Guardian of the Sun
by Sol Winterfang71
Summary: I miss my usual routine; wake up, eat breakfast, send a clone out to do a D-rank mission or something, attend a meeting every so often, etc. Now, after my first C-rank mission, this crazy red haired girl simply refuses to be ignored by me and just won't keep her hands to herself. I'm just glad Jiraiya-sensei isn't around to witness the chaos of my life...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter One

Ancient legends spoke of a man called the Sage of Six Paths, the Rikudou no Sennin, the originator of Chakra. Not many knew of them and even fewer believed them to be true. Even lesser known legends spoke of him having two sons, Ashura and Indra. They were always conflicting, the elder, having inherited the power of their father's eyes, strove for power, believing it was the key to true strength. The younger, having inherited the power of their father's body, yearned to bring everyone together in peace, feeling that the bonds of kinship was the only path to true strength.

When their time passed, their spirits were reincarnated regularly all throughout history every couple generations and each time, the two reborn brothers would be drawn towards one another and do battle in one way or another, be it one of blades or minds, but not once did they achieve what their father wanted of them; world-wide peace. Thus, each pair of reincarnated souls became stuck in a cycle for ages immemorial. Until, one day...

Something in Ashura changed...

His beliefs remained the same, but one of his reincarnations deviated for a short time, wandering over on to Indra's path of power, but managed to stumble his way back to the path of unity. Because of it, it caused an unforeseen change in Ashura's transmigrating spirit that caused it to gradually transform little by little with each spiritual rebirth. Unknown to the other party, the same occured with Indra around the same time, causing similar, yet entirely different changes in the elder brother as well. Within his personal 'spirit' realm, separate from everything else in existence, the Sage of Six Paths felt a ripple in the cosmic energies that surrounded him. Something had changed in the cycle, something that stirred up a feeling of hope in him for his two wayward sons.

He could only wait, wondering if the current cycle would end differently than the infinite number of times beforehand...

xXx

"Geez...Do we _have_ to go back?" The rather short teen grumbled with his hands clasped behind his head, walking alongside his god father and teacher down the road back to his birthplace. "I mean...Can't we travel for a couple more years first? You know I don't like it there..."

"Yes, Naruto, we do. Sensei's orders. Besides, we're already running late because of you." Jiraiya of the Sannin answered with a slight chuckle, which only got louder when the teen sighed out a draw-out groan of disappointment. With how he liked to procrastinate, the white haired Toad Sage would have thought Naruto was related to the Nara clan, but he was too energetic and passionate to be counted among them.

Casting a side-long glance at the sixteen year old boy he had been looking after for the past six years, Jiraiya couldn't help smirking slightly at how far Naruto had come since the obnoxiously loud-mouthed ten year old midget he had originally taken under his wing and cared for, as per his duty and loyalty to his last student demanded. However, it wasn't his duty and loyalty that spurned him to take the boy on as an apprentice and god son. It wasn't even due to a prophecy he had been told years ago by the Elder Sage Toad. It was almost entirely because he saw a lot of himself in the kid when he was that age...

Standing at 5'9", sixteen year old Naruto had well-tanned skin from constantly being out in the sun with spiky and shaggy knee-length golden blonde hair pulled back and tightly bound with black cloth from the base of his skull all the way down to the end with only a short tuft of his golden hair left uncovered at the end while his bangs were left free to frame his face and brush against his collar bone on either side of his neck. His eyes were a dark sapphire blue while three whisker-like birthmarks adorned either of his covered cheeks.

Like he often was, Naruto was clad in a pair of baggy black pants that were tightly bound with black cloth from the knee down with a golden colored sash wrapped around his waist, black tabbi socks covering his feet, and black metal geta sandals with golden colored thongs for footwear. His lean and chiseled torso was covered by a black skin-tight turtleneck underarmor top with long sleeves that ended in black full-finger gloves and a black cloth face mask attached to the collar that was pulled up over his nose, a half-face mask of golden metal attached to it that had three horizontal vent-like slits running across either cheek and a small circular hole-like vent in the front-middle.

Covering his arms from fingertip to shoulder were sleeves of golden metal that armored his chest and upper back as well with black leather straps keeping them held in place, a gorget of the same golden metal covering his neck completely while similarly crafted shin guards of the same golden metal were strapped to his forelegs with black leather straps. Situated under his sash was a simple black leather belt with six black leather holsters hanging from it, three at either hip, that held a golden yellow storage scroll in each one. Attached to the belt behind his waist were four plain grey equipment pouches filled with various items that he deemed necessary.

"Gah! Can we at least go a little faster and get this over with?" Naruto questioned irritably from his spot. "The faster we get this done, the better."

"How you managed to complete the basics of Sage training, I'll never know..." Jiraiya grumbled, getting a hidden mischievous grin from the blonde, though the glint in his eyes was unmistakable.

"I'm just that awesome." He retorted cheekily, getting a half-hearted glare from the older ninja. He then frowned slightly as he thought of something else and looked back ahead, hands still clasped behind his head. "I wonder how strong Karasu is now..."

"Oh ho? Missing your little girlfriend again?" Jiraiya teased, only to get hit with a rather strong backhand to his stomach, stumbling him and making him cough as he doubled over. Blushing slightly beneath the face mask, Naruto scowled irritably as he glared out ahead of him. "...Moody, much?"

"Shut up, perv. It's not like that..." Naruto growled quietly, never noticing Jiraiya's knowing smirk as they kept walking. "I just want to find out how much stronger the two of us have gotten since we made that promise to each other back then, alright? That's all. Besides, she's more like a sister to me than anything else."

"Riiiiig-Oof!" Once more, Jiraiya's teasing resulted in getting hit in the stomach again, this time with enough force to drop him to the ground...

xXx

"..." Finally coming to a stop in her usual daily training regimen, Karasu tilted her head back and looked up at the sun to gauge the approximate time. Standing at 5'5", her obsidian hair reached half way down her back in a high pony tail, her chin-length bangs left free to frame her face and cover her left eye. As she had for the past couple years, Karasu was dressed in a pair of beige-white short-shorts with a dark blue belt holding them up, a biege-white tube top, a dark blue zippered long-sleeve jacket over it that cut short just below her small A-cup bust with the Uchiha fan decorating the back, black fingerless gloves on her hands, and dark blue kunoichi sandals on her feet. "Almost time..."

She was the last of her clan, all of whom having been slaughtered by her own elder brother, Itachi. She was never the same after that dreadful night, having been placed under one of the most powerful genjutsu known to the world, Tsukiyomi, by Itachi and forced to relive the slaughter of every Uchiha time and time again in the span of a single second. Karasu knew she would have turned out to be ultimately cold and uncaring of anyone and anything if it hadn't been for an obnoxious and irritating blonde kid that stumbled into her life a couple months after the massacre. It took her some time to warm up to him, but because of him, she had actually managed to befriend a few others. She still wasn't very social, though, and the best way she could describe herself as was 'blunt'; she didn't sugar-coat things for anyone and really didn't care if she hurt someone's feelings because of something she said or did. Strangely, it only drew more people towards her, something that she wasn't exactly sure she liked or not...

 _'I should start getting ready.'_ She mused idly while still staring up at the sun with squinted eyes before heading inside, a faint smirk forming on her lips as she wondered how much stronger her best friend and rival had become in the past six years...

xXx

"Uchiha Karasu?" Iruka called out, currently taking roll before he started the graduation exam for the aspiring genin he had been teaching for the past eight years.

"Here." Karasu spoke up quietly, something that surprised Iruka a little bit. For the past six years, Karasu would merely raise her hand to signal her presence without ever giving a verbal response. Although confused as to why she would choose now of all times to break that habit, the scarred chuunin figured she must have been excited by something; no doubt, the prospect of finally becoming a full-fledged ninja of Konoha. Spotting another name on his list below Karasu's, Iruka looked a bit confused, having never had it on his list before.

"Um...Uzumaki Naruto?" He inquired, but there was no response. From her spot, Karasu wondered what was taking the blonde so long to arrive, internally worried about him a little bit; she refused to acknowledge it, though, let alone admit it to herself or anyone else. "Is there an Uzumaki Naruto here?"

Before he could mark the person absent on his list when he recieved no response, the door to the classroom was thrown open and a blonde teen in black clothing and golden armor stumbled through the door, looking as if he had been shoved unexpectedly. Noticing the dispersing whisps of smoke out in the hall, Iruka could only cock an eye brow and look back down at the blonde picking himself up off the ground, dusting himself off.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" Iruka questioned curiously with a flat stare, getting a sheepish chuckle and eye smile from the teen as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Unknown to them, Karasu, in her usual seat near the back of the class, was staring at the blonde with slightly wider-than-normal eyes. It was the blonde's strange choice in armor that caught her eye the most, the polished and almost gaudy golden metal being incredibly eye-catching. It was also quite reflective when it came to light from being well polished, most likely something he did on purpose. She wouldn't know for certain until she was able to fight him again, but if he was like she remembered him being, he was notorious for his unorthodox methods in just about everything...and his tricky nature as a prankster, which made him even more unpredictable. "Alright, go find a place to sit and we'll get to the testing shortly."

"Hai, sensei." The blonde responded, still eye smiling, before turning and looking for an empty seat. Spotting one, he went towards it, giving the person next to it a cheerful eye smile. "Is this seat taken?"

"..." Hyuuga Hinata blushed shyly, but shook her head negatively instead of responding verbally. As he sat down beside her, he gave her a quick glance-over. She stood a little under five and a half feet in height with a slim and lithe physique that bore a well-endowed hourglass figure in the works, the trademark pupil-less white eyes of the Hyuuga clan, light cream colored skin, and straight dark indigo-black hair pulled back into a low pony-tail that ended just past her shoulder blades. She was dressed in a pair of baggy and airy black hakama-style pants with small slits in the sides at her hips, a black skin-tight backless and sleeve-less top that did little to hide her blossoming bust and slim waist, black skin-tight arm warmers that went from her wrists up to the middle of her biceps, a lavender colored sash wrapped around her waist, a pair of more elogant looking black kunoichi sandals on her feet with slight wedge heels to give her an additional inch in height, and a baggy lavender hoodie over her top that was left open with white sleeves and lavender cuffs.

"I'm Naruto, by the way." Naruto introduced himself, extending a golden armored hand in greeting. Blushing a little more than before, Hinata lightly grasped his hand in return.

"H-Hinata...N-Nice to meet you." She stuttered quietly, making eye contact for only a moment before her blush redoubled, forcing her gaze downward before she did something embarrassing. A few rows behind them and on the opposite side of the class, Karasu found herself glaring at the two, her cheeks warmed with a slight blush, but...why? She had no real reason to be acting like she was unless...No, that was simply impossible. There was nothing about Hinata for her to be jealous about.

 _'Except maybe her chest...'_ She mused idly as he gaze dropped to Hinata's well-endowed chest before eyeing her own, her indignant blush burning a little hotter and brighter than a moment ago. That was when she spied an obviously empty seat beside her, her internal fuming resurging with the revelation. _'That jerk! He looked right at me and saw the empty spot beside me, but he blatantly ignored it! Oh, I'm SOO going to kick his ass for that later!'_

"Yamanaka Ino?" Iruka called out one of the last names on his roster...

xXx

"HA! I told you I'd pass without messing up anywhere!" Naruto jeered impishly later that day as he 'playfully' punched Jiraiya in the arm, but in his excitement, remained absolutely oblivious to the amount of strength he put into it, sending the Toad Sage crashing into the far wall. Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting behind his desk in the office, could only watch the interaction with wide, awe-struck eyes. He had not been expecting the blonde to get so strong. Jiraiya had told him that the boy had learned a few things from Tsunade during the few times they ran into her during their travels, but neither had been prepared to find out that he learned Tsunade's and the Shodaime Hokage's secret for such incredible strength. "Huh? Sensei? Stop fooling around over there! Get up!"

 _'At least my life won't be so boring now...'_ Hiruzen thought to himself as he started puffing on his pipe again, watching as Naruto nudged the barely conscious form of Jiraiya with his toes, his armored hands stuffed in his pockets lazily. Naruto had just come from the Academy after the test, his Konoha hitai-ate tied around his waist over his sash on a strip of black cloth with the plate situated in front of his left hip. The Sandaime had to agree with Naruto, the blonde having scored perfectly on each of the tests, but the chuunin, Umino Iruka, had made a note on Naruto's score sheet about his taijutsu; while incredibly strong and fast, Naruto fought more like a brawler, though Iruka admitted that even he had an issue with spotting any openings in his defense, let alone taking advantage of them. Iruka's estimation of Naruto's taijutsu 'style' coincided with Jiraiya's last monthly report on the blonde's training.

"Hm?" Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, Naruto looked up from his sensei and out the window just as the man started picking himself up off the ground while rubbing his arm. Spotting someone, Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly in determination as he pulled his hands from his pockets, his fingers slowly curling into fists while a small smirk remained hidden by his mask. Noticing the change in his student's demeanor, Jiraiya glanced out the window and couldn't help smirking, seeing one Uchiha Karasu standing on a rooftop across the street from them, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared directly at Naruto almost expectantly even though her facial expression was stoic and blank. "...Sensei..."

"Yeah, yeah. Go on, get going." Jiraiya didn't even finish what he was saying before Naruto darted out the open window and took off at full speed, Karasu following after him as they headed in the direction of the nearest training grounds. Chuckling quietly, Jiraiya took a seat in front of his old sensei's desk before sighing slightly, still grinning. "Gaki...I swear, he's like a perfect blend of his parents. And not just in personality."

"Yes, I gathered about as much from your reports; naturally talented in fuinjutsu, an unnaturally quick learner in ninjutsu and taijutsu, possess more chakra than most jounin..." Hiruzen trailed off towards the end, a slight laugh escaping him as well. "He's nothing short of a juggernaut already. I can only imagine what kind of trouble he'll end up getting himself into when he gets older."

"Oh, no! You did it now!" Jiraiya suddenly exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and jabbed a finger at his old sensei, looking rather nervous and worried, confusing the elderly Sarutobi. Seeing his sensei's look, the Toad Sage answered his unspoken question. "Every time someone says _anything_ about him and 'trouble' in the same sentence, something happens! _Every_ time, no matter what! I even went so far as to tie the kid up and put a bunch of seals on him one time! He was _knocked out_ and I stupidly said something about not having to deal with the brat's irritating ass and what happens?! Trouble, that's what!"

"Honestly, Jiraiya. You're over reacting. Nothing's going to-" Hiruzen was cut short by a rather loud explosion coming from one of the nearby training grounds, a faint tremor rumbling through the earth and buildings at the same time while a thick cloud of black smoke rose from the point of the explosion. Jiraiya simply gave him a flat look that _screamed_ 'I told you so'. "...happen..."

"See?" Jiraiya hissed venomously with a glare before disappearing in a Shunshin to check on his student while Hiruzen sighed and slouched in his chair, puffing irritably on his pipe. The Sandaime had a feeling that his on-going battle with paperwork was going to get a _whole_ lot tougher on him. And fast...

xXx

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have rocks for brains?!" Karasu bellowed furiously as she kicked Naruto in the back of his leg, making the blonde cry out in pain slightly and limp away a few steps; she would have punched him in the arm, but she wasn't dumb enough to do that while he had his armor on. "Seriously! What could have possibly possessed you to make an exploding tag that damn powerful?! You nearly killed us _both_ , you idiot!"

"H-Hey! It was my first experimental one, okay?! I didn't think it was _that_ bad!" Naruto argued, only for a thought to occur to him, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "Although, it certaintly would explain why sensei couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry when I showed it to him the other day..."

"I swear, you are the biggest idiot I've ever met, Naruto." Karasu groaned as she palmed her face with one hand, the other braced on her hip. Currently, they were both coated in a light dusting of dirt and ash from the explosion. She was surprised, however, when a white haired man dressed in red and green kabuki style clothing appeared via Shunshin, only to suddenly punch Naruto in the back of his head, glaring at the blonde.

"OW!" The Uzumaki cried out, clutching the back of his head in pain.

"What'd I tell you about showing off like that?!" Jiraiya snapped angrily. "And I thought I told you not to use that damn tag you made! Especially around friendlies!"

"I thought it was the other one!" Naruto growled at the man, glaring right back at him. For a moment, Karasu swore the two were somehow related to one another with how similar they were behaving. Then, the smoke started clearing where Naruto had placed the exploding tag and she glanced over at it, expecting a shallow crater or something. Instead, she was left a little slack-jawed when she saw the deep hole blown into the ground. It was easily a good ten feet deep and almost just as wide at the top of the opening. That was no exploding tag; it was a damn bunker buster!

"How the hell do you mistake one for the other?! They look nothing alike! I thought I taught you better than that, you bubble-headed blonde!" Jiraiya snarled before getting punched in the face with enough force to bend him back at the waist, but he showed surprising balance and stability when he didn't even stumble back.

"You take that back, you perverted old bastard!" Naruto roared, only for Jiraiya to lurch forward and headbutt the blonde, causing the teen to take up Jiraiya's previous pose; bent back at the waist, head cocked back from the blow. Staring at the two with a flat look, Karasu was wondering whether or not she should distract the immature duo somehow before an all-out brawl broke out when the white haired man suddenly cried out in pain and covered his forehead with his hands.

"What the hell is your head made out of, brat?!" Jiraiya demanded angrily. "Headbutting you hurts worse than one of Tsunade-hime's punches to the face!"

"I'm just that awesome!" Naruto practically yelled back as he swung back forward and headbutted Jiraiya in return, knocking the Toad Sage flat on his back and out cold. Huffing frustratedly, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. And then he remembered Karasu was still there and glanced at her, only to flinch slightly when he noticed that she was watching him with a cold, unblinking stare."Uh...K-Karasu? What's with the scary look?"

"...Baka." She sighed out before looking down at her clothes and scowling. Turning that scowl on her friend, she kept talking. "My clothes better not be ruined because of you..."

"I'll buy you a new set, if they are." He responded with a sheepish eye smile, rubbing the back of his head. He never saw the faint, almost non-existent blush that decorated Karasu's cheeks as she looked away; he was too caring. Calming back down just in time before he saw any signs of her being flustered, Karasu decided to call it an early day.

"I expect to have a proper fight with you tomorrow. And NO exploding tags. Got it?" Karasu responded before ordering, getting a nervous nod from the blonde. Nodding once to show her approval of the response, she continued speaking while turning to leave, briefly waving over her shoulder. "Good. Now, I'm going home to get cleaned up. I'll see you here tomorrow morning."

"Heh...Alright, see you then, _Hime_!" Naruto called out after her with a mischievious grin, noticing how she visibly tensed at the remark and hesitated in mid-stride, but kept walking while muttering 'baka' under her breath, her cheeks flushed heatedly. Snickering at her reaction, Naruto knew it would get under her skin. She always hated being called 'princess' in the past, something he discovered when he found out that she had been the daughter of the Uchiha clan head. At first, it was just something to call her other than her name, but it eventually became an inside joke between them; mostly for his own amusement. Looking down at his unconscious sensei, Naruto sighed. Not really wanting to carry his unconscious sensei anywhere like he usually did when the sennin had had too much to drink, Naruto simply turned and started walking away, knowing the man would be perfectly fine where he was until he woke up...

xXx

Later that night, Naruto was sitting atop the Yondaime Hokage's head on the Hokage Monument, golden armored hands clasped behind his head as he stared up at the night sky. Despite being 'home', he felt restless, having grown used to traveling all of the time. That, and there was so much he had wanted to do earlier during the day, but didn't have the time to do, that he was simply too excited to sleep. Sitting up and crossing his legs under him, Naruto was going to meditate for a little while to calm himself back down, but before he started, he noticed something unusual down below. Narrowing his eyes and momentarily grateful for the now-natural night vision gifted to him from constant exposure to the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra, among a few other things, Naruto spied the figure fleeing from the Administration Building, which he knew to be mostly vacant at the moment since he and the Sandaime had been among the last few to leave the building just an hour ago. Plus, the person looked like they were in a hurry with something on their back...

"Something's not right..." He mumbled quietly to himself before standing up and simply stepping off the carved head of the Fourth Hokage, letting himself plummet the two hundred meter distance in freefall. Adjusting his position as he neared the ground, Naruto landed heavily in a kneeling crouch, one armored fist pressed against the ground as spider web cracks shot out in all directions from the point of impact while a thin cloud of dust was tossed into the air. Letting the almost unnoticable protective chakra shell fade from his skin, Naruto sprinted forward before jumping up to the roof of a nearby building, heading in the same direction the other person had been going. Quickly catching a glance of the person he had spotted from his perch a minute ago, Naruto felt that his original assumption of something being wrong was right. Adjusting course, he locked onto the figure and started getting closer. After a couple minutes of pursuit, Naruto slowly recognized the person. "Wasn't he Iruka-sensei's assistant or something? What was his name...Mizuki, I think?"

 _ **"Quit babbling to yourself, you aggravating brat!"**_ The Kyuubi suddenly growled from within the blonde's mind, catching Naruto off guard and making him stumble slightly. Thankfully, he didn't give himself away and didn't lose sight of the pale haired chuunin he was tailing. _**"I swear, if I could, I'd kill myself just to end the suffering of listening to your irritating voice!"**_

 _"Oh, shut up, Furball! It gets lonely when you don't have anyone to talk to!"_ Naruto retorted in his mind, getting an annoyed growl-like grunt from the fox sealed away inside of him; it couldn't exactly argue the point since it was true. _"Besides, I think better when I do..."_

 _ **"Sure, you do..."**_ Kyuubi grumbled sarcastically. Naruto could practically _feel_ the giant fox spirit roll its eyes and couldn't resist doing it himself before breaking the connection and focusing back on task. That was when he caught a glimpse of the writing on the over-sized scroll slung across Mizuki's lower back; the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing. Eyes narrowing dangerously, Naruto resisted charging in and taking him down immediately. They were still in the village and if the fight got a little too intense, innocents would be put at risk because of his carelessness. Thankfully, they weren't far from the outskirts, the chuunin obviously going rogue and betraying Konoha. Hearing a quiet, but dark growl in his mind, Naruto knew the Kyuubi was in full agreement with him in terms of Mizuki's judgement; abandoning one's home and birth-place for whatever reason, no matter how trivial, was tantamount to treason in their opinion and neither dealt with betrayal well. Stealing village secrets while in the process of doing so was even worse...

 _"Kyuubi..."_ Naruto mentally growled at his tenant and spiritual companion the moment he breached the tree line along the outskirts of the village, Mizuki still kept within his line of sight. The nine tailed fox spirit didn't respond, but still obeyed the unspoken command. A moment later, Naruto's blue eyes bled into crimson with black slit pupils as the Kyuubi's dark chakra flooded his body. Suddenly strengthened and empowered by the Bijuu's energy, Naruto dropped from the tree branch he had landed on, but the moment his feet made contact with the ground, he shot off with such an immense burst of speed and power that the ground he had been standing on practically exploded, sending chunks of dirt and other debris flying through the air.

"What the-" Mizuki didn't get the chance to finish as he turned around to momentarily investigate the unexpected sound, but he was struck by a man-sized projectile of black and gold. It was in the split second that contact was made that his perception of time froze and he saw exactly what hit him. Already doubled over the fist embedded in his stomach, Mizuki saw only that strange late-enrolled student from earlier in the day, but...those eyes. Those fierce, menacing ruby eyes...He was just a kid back then, but he could never forget those eyes, a thought passing through his mind like a flash of lightning. _'Kyuubi.'_

And then time continued normally to the chuunin. Rocketed back like a cannon ball while Naruto came to a complete stop at the same exact time, Mizuki flew nearly fifty meters, crashing through tree limbs the whole way, before finally touching back down on the ground, only to be sent tumbling and rolling and bouncing for another thirty. Sliding to a stop at the base of a tree, Mizuki was instantly stricken with a severe coughing fit, choking and gagging as he tried to refill his forcefully emptied lungs while clutching at his abdomen, an almost-black bruise already forming to cover most of his front while strips of more bruising formed on his back from hitting some of the branches. He didn't need medical knowledge to know that at the very least he had minor internal bleeding from the blow, at least three cracked ribs, and a cracked sternum, if not other internal injuries alongside the cuts and scratches all over his body sustained from the branches he crashed through.

"That scroll is the property of the Hokage of Konoha. Hand it over now..." Naruto spoke up coldly and clearly while approaching the downed chuunin with a slow and measured gait, his furiously burning eyes locked on Mizuki and his armored hands tightly clenched into fists. "Before I _take_ it from you, you _traitorous thief_..."

"Wha...What _are_ you...?" Mizuki gasped out in terrified whisper as he finally regained his breath, hunched over on all fours and staring up at the golden armored teen with shock and past fears, unable to look away from the eyes that had haunted his nightmares for the past sixteen years. Deciding to humor the man in a rare show of cold-blooded sadism, Naruto maintained his cold glare while reaching up and pulling his mask down, revealing his whisker marked cheeks. Immediately, the chuunin recognized him from that sole trait. Mizuki's fear instantly became hatred, his cowering expression a spiteful glare. "You...You're supposed to be _dead_..."

"Many people have said those same words to me in my life..." Naruto responded quietly while putting his mask back in place, never once looking away from the chuunin. "I have proved them wrong every time...and this time will be no different."

"We'll just see about that!" Mizuki hissed before swiftly hurling a handful of shuriken at the teen and rushing in behind them, hoping to create an opening he could exploit. Unflinchingly, Naruto raised his left arm and blocked the throwing stars with the golden armor covering his forearm while cocking his right fist back at shoulder level, never once blinking or breaking eye contact with Mizuki despite the sparks thrown up by the throwing stars clashing with his armor. Eyes widening as he realized his impromptu plan failed, Mizuki barely had the chance to dodge to the side before Naruto's fist shot forward like a bolt of golden lightning and slammed into the ground with the force of a meteorite, a rippling shockwave spreading through the ground as a small crater was left from the impact and a dust cloud kicked up into the air. Hoping to use it to his advantage, Mizuki retrieved one of the two giant shuriken on his back and got it spinning as fast as he could in his grasp before throwing it at the exact spot his target was last seen occupying. Instead of the sound of steel piercing flesh or a cry or sound of pain and agony, he heard only a metallic clang and the constant shriek of metal grinding against metal.

"I'll only give you one last warning. Hand over the scroll before I take it from you..." Naruto spoke up coldly as the dust cloud thinned, the golden armored blonde revealed to be holding the still spinning shuriken by the ring and using his chakra to maintain its rapid rotation, the metal grinding against his armored palm like a poorly maintained power saw. Mizuki could only stare at the blonde in absolute shock. "...And you do not want me to do that."

"Why won't you just die?!" Mizuki howled before hurling his other giant shuriken at the teen, only for Naruto to throw the one in his hand. Both large projectiles deflected off of each other, shooting off in two different directions. In that same moment, Mizuki bit back a curse and jumped to the side just in time to avoid being turned to paste by another of Naruto's punches, the chuunin wincing and losing his footing, stumbling as he clutched at his abdomen where he had been punched earlier, the pain finally starting to over-ride the adrenaline rushing through his body. Bursting out from the dust cloud brought about by his previous attack, Naruto shot straight at the chuunin, who could only watch with wide eyes as the red eyed genin cocked his right hand back while the distance between them was closed in the blink of an eye. He also heard Naruto utter a single phrase, his tone even colder than before and barely audible.

"Yoroi Bureka." This time, instead of a fist, Naruto's armored palm slammed into his chest with the thunderous echo of a cannon being fired, driving Mizuki down into the ground with the power of a mountain being dropped on him, the hand retracted an instant after contact was made. He was unable to make a sound or move any part of his body, his entire body having locked up as he laid in the crater's epicenter. Reaching down, Naruto wasn't gentle as he rolled Mizuki over and took the Forbidden Scroll from him, the leather strap holding it in place snapping easily under the strain of the teen's strength. Creating a Kage Bunshin without handseals or even uttering the name of the technique, Naruto passed the scroll to the clone before 'lightly' kicking Mizuki back over onto his back. Staring down at the older shinobi with the same menacing look he had been giving him since the beginning, Naruto simply stood there while a team of ANBU appeared in the area, the blonde's clone passing the scroll to one of them so that it could be returned to the Hokage. "You should have listened to me..."

"..." Unable to speak or move his body, Mizuki could only stare back at the golden armored genin with unadultered hatred and terror. Expression unchanging, Naruto slowly turned and walked away, his clone poofing out of existence since it was no longer needed any longer. As he walked away, the Kyuubi's chakra gradually receeded back into the seal, Naruto's eyes fading back to their natural sapphire and the newly graduated genin starting to tire now that the rush of raw power and strength faded away. The true strength of his Yoroi Bureka taijutsu technique wasn't his physical might, but the raw pain the strike inflicts, which paralyzes the nervous system and locks up the body's motor functions; he had come up with it as a non-lethal technique, though still quite an admittedly painful one. It was honestly only because of his morals that he didn't kill Mizuki for his treasonous attempt. Instead, the ANBU division can take care of that for him...

"It seems you are most definitely stronger than you first appear, Naruto-kun..." Sarutobi Hiruzen mused to himself while leaning back in his chair and puffing on his pipe, having watched everything unfold through his crystal ball, something Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage, had designed and made in his spare time outside of the wars as a means to keep an eye on things all throughout Konoha. Sighing out another breath of smoke, the Sandaime glanced back at the stack of files on the genin graduates from earlier in the day and then at the stack of team requests. Picking up one of the sheets of paper that depicted the scores for all of the Academy students that had passed the exams that afternoon. "Hmm...You certaintly like to make things difficult for others...Don't you, Naruto-kun?"

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Yoroi Bureka- Armor Breaker


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the sun

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Chapter Two

The next day, Karasu found herself feeling a little nervous for some reason as she made her way to the training ground she and Naruto had been at yesterday. They had always been strangely competitive, but it always paid off for the both of them since they were constantly pushing each other to get stronger. Because of that old rivalry, they surpassed everyone in their class and possibly everyone in their generation. And yet she was nervous about having a 'friendly' spar with her childhood friend. Then again, Naruto had been the lucky one to gain an apprenticeship under one of the Sannin; a seal master and sage, at that. She was lucky to have a jounin take her under their wing and teach her, having tracked them down herself and nearly resorted to blackmail she was so stubborn in her efforts to convince them to help train her.

It had actually been her stubborness and tenacity that ultimately convinced the jounin to train her, not the admittedly empty threat of blackmail...

"..." She stayed silent as she rubbed her left arm absently, recalling the hardships and trials she had to endure to reach her current level of power. For a moment, Karasu would have wondered if Naruto had gone through similar problems, but she knew him a little too well; he probably went through worse due to his own stupidity. The thought brought a faint smile to her lips, remembering how clumsy the blonde used to be when they were kids. _'I doubt that part of him has changed any since we last saw each other...'_

A few moments later, she finally entered the clearing they had been in yesterday afternoon and immediately eyed the crater that still scarred the training ground's main clearing. Once more, she suddenly felt a little nervous about the coming spar with Naruto. Before she could continue that train of thought, a stiff breeze blew through the area and the trees swayed in response. However, the mid-morning sunlight glinted off of something off to the side, catching her attention, but when she looked, she was honestly a little surprised by what she saw.

Sitting in a meditative lotus position just within the shade of a tree at the edge of the clearing was Naruto, his hands balled up into loose fists with his armored knuckles pressed together and resting in his lap, his head bowed slightly. Quietly drawing closer so as not to disturb him, she was honestly surprised that someone as hyper-active and loud as him could sit still that long, let alone achieve the slightest degree of 'inner peace' and calm that came with true meditation...but Karasu didn't hold her look of surprise for long when she realized that he wasn't meditating...

 _'Typical Naruto...He's asleep.'_ She thought with a flat look before sighing quietly, another faint smile taking hold. Just before she could attempt to wake him up, however, she noticed a few things about him that made her suspicious of what had transpired since she last saw him yesterday afternoon. For one, she spotted flecks of dried blood on his armor centered mostly around his arms and a couple micro-droplets dotting a small part of his metal face mask and part of his upper chest. The armor on his hands was smeared with dirt and there was a light dusting of dirt all over his body and in his hair.

She froze in place almost immediately, her mind racing with potential scenarios and feasible reasons as to why he would have been in a fight to begin with. In the past, Naruto had always been very defensive, _very_ protective, if not a bit overly so, and deathly loyal to people he trusted and cared for, but she had never known him to be openly violent towards others without reasonable provocation such as someone being bullied or wrongfully attacked, whether it was a verbal or physical assault; it didn't matter to him. Past knowledge aside, all of the signs pointed towards the fact that her friend had been involved in a fight recently and, for the moment, she couldn't imagine why. Whoever he fought, they were in a whole new world of pain at the moment and Naruto was the god that had created it...

With who and how bad the fight got, she had no way of telling, but...but it would explain the distant sound and vibrations of tremors she had heard and felt late last night. Just what was he truly capable of? Karasu didn't know and, once more, found herself questioning whether she really wanted to find out or not. In the end, she decided it might be best to wait a little while before they sparred; just to give her more time to collect a little more information on her childhood friend and rival. Instead, she figured it would be better to wake him and get him cleaned up. Kneeling down, Karasu reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. Baka. Wake up." She said while shaking him slightly; the reaction wasn't quite what she expected. Her eyes snapped wide open when one of Naruto's hands suddenly caught her wrist in a vice grip, but he didn't otherwise move from his spot. After a moment of nothing, she tried tugging her hand free, but Naruto's grip wasn't going to let that happen. He wasn't hurting her, but it was uncomfortable and she couldn't break free of it. And it was aggravating. It also didn't help that she heard someone snicker behind her...

"You fell for it too, huh?" Jiraiya questioned as he walked closer, having arrived just moments before Karasu, but had sensed her approach and took to hiding just to see who it was that was looking for Naruto, if that was what they were doing. The white haired sage then started pouting childishly, his arms crossed over his chest stubbornly. "The brat picked up that damn irritating habit a couple years ago all because I'd borrow a little bit of money from him while he was sleeping...The little bastard's a heavy sleeper, too..."

"I don't care how it started. How do I make him let go?" Karasu growled at the Sennin before planting a foot against Naruto's shoulder and trying to pull her wrist free; Naruto's arm didn't even bend at the elbow or rotate at the shoulder. He wasn't even unbalanced by the act. It was as if he was made of stone or something. Audibly growling with frustration, Karasu was becoming sorely tempted to hurt the blonde in some way just to wake him up and make him let go. Jiraiya snickered again before answering her question.

"That's a trick for me to know and for you to figure out on your own..." Jiraiya teased while chuckling, though he was being entirely honest. He ignored the Sharingan-enhanced scathing glare Karasu shot him as he grinned like a fool. "I'll give you a hint; it's a lot like a finger trap in human form. Anyways, now that I've found out what became of my student, I'll be heading out...Keep him there for a little while, will you?"

"...Who did he fight last night?" Karasu suddenly asked just as Jiraiya turned to walk away, making the man stop in his tracks.

"...Someone that picked the wrong night to turn their back on Konoha..." Jiraiya responded seriously without turning back around to face her, keeping the details a secret since it was, technically, an S-class secret deemed by the Sandaime and an 'official' A-class mission of sorts that Naruto had been paid for. Apart from stopping a traitor to the village and 'aiding' in their arrest, the details of said 'mission' were blacked out and censored along with being restricted from anyone knowing of the mission's existence, let alone access to censored file; the Hokage and a small handful of others were the only ones with clearance to know of and review the file. As an after thought, Jiraiya decided to fill Karasu in on one of Naruto's biggest issues, though it wasn't exactly a secret to begin with. "Just a word of warning; that boy's got a temper that even _I_ tend tred a little carefully around him and one of his biggest triggers is betrayal and abandonment. Do me a favor and try to keep him calm and out of trouble while I'm gone, will you?"

"..." Karasu didn't answer, but she didn't need to and they both knew that. Waving lazily over his shoulder as his usual demeanor returned, Jiraiya finally left the area via Konoha Shunshin, leaving the kunoichi to her fate. Mentally filing the new information away for later review and focusing back on the task at hand, said Uchiha glowered at the armor-plated blonde holding her in place, blushing slightly out of flustered frustration; she felt like an animal with its foot caught in a snare trap.

It made her feel weak and while Naruto had broken her of her desires for revenge against her older brother for the most part, she absolutely loathed feeling weak. It made her feel as powerless as she did the night Itachi murdered their entire clan, only that fear turned into anger now, but despite that anger and feeling like a trapped animal, she wasn't so willing to hurt herself to get free.

Whatever it was that had a hold of her, however...

"WAKE UP!" Karasu barked out angrily while bashing the top of the blonde's head with her fist...

"OW!" Naruto cried in that same instant, unknowingly releasing Karasu's wrist in his efforts to hold his hurting head. Spotting Karasu, he gained a look caught between an indignant glare and a childish pout. "What the hell, Karasu?! Why'd you hit me?"

"Because you wouldn't wake up...and you need to get yourself cleaned up. Baka." The Uchiha kunoichi growled out, tenderly rubbing her sore knuckles; hitting Naruto's head bare-handed was about as intelligent as a civilian punching a slab of granite. She made a mental note to aim for the fleshier areas on his body that weren't covered by his golden armor. "Speaking of which, why didn't you just go home and rest instead of sleeping outside?"

"..." Naruto instantly looked off to the side with a strange look in his eyes that Karasu couldn't readily identify. After a couple moments of silence, he finally spoke up. "I didn't want to spend any of my money on a hotel room and...I haven't gone by my parents' place yet..."

"Your...parents' place?" Karasu repeated quietly in honest surprise, having always known Naruto as an orphan. Even after so long, she was still learning things about her childhood friend and rival. Naruto nodded slightly, the subject obviously being a sensitive subject for him, but he actually wanted to talk about it; he never kept secrets from her. Well, not very many, but if she asked the right questions in the right way, he would answer her honestly and he sometimes dropped small hints for her to catch on to when it came to certain things.

If there was one thing in the world that he hated the most and felt absolutely horrible about, it was keeping secrets from Karasu...

"Yeah...They died during the Kyuubi attack, the night I was born. As it was stated in their wills, their house and just about all of their belongings were part of my inheritance..." Naruto mumbled quietly while Karasu waited for him to continue. "I haven't gone by there yet...I don't think I'm ready to do that just yet..."

"Do you at least know where it is?" Karasu asked as an idea started forming in her mind; it had a strong chance of back-firing on her, but it needed to be done. Naruto nodded in response. "Good. Because we're going there. Right now."

"What? No!" Naruto protested, but Karasu was already grabbing his hands and in the process of pulling him to his feet. He didn't put up much of a fight. Then again, he was kind of scared of Karasu's Sharingan glares...

"You made me face the fact that my entire clan is gone and that killing my brother wouldn't bring them back..." Karasu began firmly before her tone softened in the end as her fully matured Sharingan eyes faded away to reveal her usual onyx irises. "It's your turn now."

"..." Naruto said nothing as he looked away, not really liking the idea of it, especially not around Karasu. Unlike her, he was an extremely emotional person...but she was just as stubborn as him and he knew she wouldn't let up until he gave in to her demands. Just like how he did the same thing for her when they first met; it was actually the main reason they became friends in the first place. "Fine...Come on."

"Thank you." The lone Uchiha returned appreciatively, confusing Naruto a little bit. "I wasn't really looking forward to _forcing_ you to go through with this...Unlike a certain _someone_ I know."

"Yeah...Whatever." The blonde mumbled quietly, blatantly ignoring the half-hearted pointed look she gave him as he started walking, hands stuffed in his pockets as he took the lead. Karasu frowned slightly from her spot a couple paces behind him; a depressed Naruto was not a good thing. It's one of the reasons why she wanted him to face his fears. The world just seemed a darker place when he wasn't his usual happy-go-lucky idiot self...

xXx

"Here it is..." Naruto mumbled as they came to a stop. Despite having not been lived in for the past sixteen years, Karasu actually thought the place looked...rather cozy. It was about four or five acres of property tucked away in a semi-hidden wooded corner of the residential district with a simple seven foot high wall of white stone along the perimeter of the yard for privacy that was topped with brown clay tiles with an equally tall wooden double gate in the middle of the wall at the front of the property that had been painted tan, which they now stood on the other side of. Sitting in the approximate center of the property was the house in question. It was two stories, painted a plain off-white with plain brown roofing and trim. There was a small pond to the side in the front, a couple trees, and not much else that she could see at the moment.

"It could use a bit of work, but...it's still a nice place." Karasu commented before starting to head towards the house, Naruto trailing a couple paces behind her. After unlocking the door, Naruto was the first to enter with Karasu following right behind him. While it was rather simple and unremarkable in appearance, she instantly noticed the feeling of 'home' the place gave off the moment she stepped through the threshold. "Oh, wow...It looks even nicer on the inside."

The floors were all a polished dark brown hardwood, the walls a soft beige with dark brown wood trim accenting the interior along the walls and doorways. After a few minutes of exploring, they found that the second floor held one master bedroom with an attached master bathroom, two guest rooms, one regular bathroom, a study and what they guessed to be a small personal armory room of sorts, though it was bare of anything beyond basic supplies and equipment.

The first floor held a kitchen that had plenty of room to work in while the dining room beside it was spacious with enough room for an eight-person table and still have a little extra room to spare. The den had plenty of space to entertain guests while the laundry room was located at the opposite end of the house. In the back, there was a well-made wooden deck that spanned the entire length of the house and stretched out a good twenty feet with a waist-high railing all along it, the roof extending to cover the entire deck.

Beyond that, there wasn't much else worthy of noting. There was a rather large beige couch and a similarly colored recliner in the den with a low-lying coffee table next to them, a king-size bed in the master bedroom, and a couple other pieces of furniture scattered throughout the house, but not much else.

"There isn't much furniture..." Karasu noted aloud, despite the fact being pretty obvious.

"According to the Old Man, my parents hadn't had the chance to fully move in when the Kyuubi attacked." Naruto answered softly, having spotted the boxes of his parents' belongings that had been stored in scrolls and placed in the master bedroom's spacious walk-in closet. The only reason the house was clean and the yard wasn't a varitable jungle by now was because of the Sandaime having a genin team clean up the property under the guise of a D-rank mission. Still, it had been a couple months since the last time it had been taken care of, so a little work was in order later on. "They had saved up their money for months to buy this place and were just starting to move out of their apartment and into here when..."

"...Come on. You can stay at my place for a couple days." Karasu suggested a few seconds after Naruto trailed off, realizing her plan wasn't exactly working, but Naruto shook his head and sighed heavily.

"No, you were right, Karasu." Naruto admitted as he took off his metal face mask and set it down on the kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from the den in the front. Pulling his cloth mask down around his neck, he closed his eyes while doing his best to keep calm. "Whether I like it or not, it's _my_ turn to face my fears..."

"Well, then that settles it." Karasu stated firmly as she plopped down on the couch and threw her arms over the back of it. Naruto gave her a confused look and she smirked that smug smirk of hers. "If you're staying here, then so am I."

"What?!" He exclaimed in shock. He did _not_ recall agreeing to anything of the sort. Karasu scoffed and got a little more comfortable where she was; the couch was incredibly plush and comfy despite it being just about as old as she and Naruto were, if not older. Then again, it had gone unused for years and probably wasn't even the original couch that had been put in the house back when Naruto's parents were moving in...

"Baka. It's just for a night or two..." She explained before her slight annoyance became well hidden concern. "Just until I'm sure you'll be okay on your own...Like how you did with me back then."

"That was a little different..." Naruto mumbled while looking away, suddenly regretting taking his masks off since his slight blush was now in full view of the girl; he always got a little shy around the opposite gender whenever it came to living around them, no matter how temporary or short the duration was. Again, Karasu scoffed. "Alright, so it wasn't, but still! It's not like when we were kids, Karasu. We can't exactly share a bed like we used to back then..."

"Oh? Says who?" Karasu teased, having always liked to get under Naruto's skin; it was just too fun and too easy for her. The blonde instantly went beet red and it took almost all of her will power to keep her amusement hidden from him.

"You know what I mean!" He practically yelled at her, obviously flustered by her teasing; he was starting to regret forcing her to gain a sense of humor back when they were kids. If there was one thing he was thankful for not getting from his sensei, it was Jiraiya's pervertedness. Then again, Karasu would have most likely killed him if he became anything like Jiraiya; that is, if Tsunade-baa-chan didn't get to him first. After calming down a little, Naruto rubbed the back of his head without making eye contact with Karasu. "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"There is no way I'm going to let _you_ sleep on the couch in _your own_ house." She retorted firmly, her eyes narrowing slightly as her smirk disappeared. " _I'll_ take the couch..."

"Like hell you are." Naruto grunted out, crossing his arms over his chest while raising an eye brow at her with an equally blank expression on his face. "Remember the last time you slept on a couch? You damn near bit everyone's head off the next morning...and you were only nine years old. Seriously, _grown adults_ were scared shitless of you that day."

"I wasn't _that_ bad..." Karasu grumbled while looking away, blushing a little herself. Then she realized that she had inadvertantly managed to back Naruto into a corner and proceeded with teasing him again. Her blush disappeared and she smirked smugly once more. "Well, I guess that leaves only one option for us, huh?"

"Oh, fuck me..." Naruto mumbled under his breath a moment later while palming his face, blushing heavily as he realized that Karasu had somehow brought them around full circle back to the topic of sharing a bed.

"Sorry, I'm not into dumbasses." Karasu joked, getting a strangled yell of aggravation from her childhood friend and rival, who was blushing even worse than before. She couldn't help it after that and broke out into stiffled giggles, only for it to become full blown laughter a moment later. It was just too much fun teasing him...

It was also the first time she had had a good, honest laugh in years...

xXx

"Hold on a second! You mean to tell me that your father was the _Yondaime Hokage_?!" Karasu exclaimed in shock from her spot beside Naruto on the floor in the master bedroom, both having taken to looking through the contents of a couple of the storage scrolls that had been boxed up in the closet not long after getting some take-out for dinner. Currently held in her hands was a picture of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, holding a red haired woman that was obviously pretty far into her pregnancy with Naruto. Before said blonde could even respond, Karasu instantly punched him in his arm with a mock glare. "Why the hell didn't you tell me before?!"

"I just found out a little while ago myself, okay?!" Naruto growled back while rubbing his bicep, suddenly regretting taking his armor off earlier; Karasu was always punching him or something along those lines whenever he either aggravated her or did something stupid. Thankfully, there had been an armor stand in the armory room that he was now putting to good use. "Sensei told me about them last year on my fifteenth birthday...and believe me, Karasu, I would have told you the moment I found out if I could have. You know that..."

"Hmph..." She huffed out in mild irritation, but calmed back down nonetheless. Shortly after 'convincing/forcing' Naruto to agree to lett her stay for a few nights, Karasu had gone back to her apartment and grabbed a bag with a couple sets of clothes and other necessities she might need while staying over at his place. The last Uchiha in Konoha was currently clad in a pair of tight fitting black short-shorts and a black skin-tight underarmor top that left her midriff bare with a full-length left sleeve and no right sleeve. "So, who was your mother? She's beautiful..."

"Her name was Uzumaki Kushina...and that she was." Naruto answered with a small, but warm smile as he stared at the picture in her hands. He thought her choice in sleepwear was a bit unusual, the top specifically, but he wasn't about to question it, lest he suffer through another bout of her teasing. Or more of her punches. He himself was dressed simply in a simple pair of baggy black shorts he sometimes slept in and a black tank top, both trimmed in golden yellow. "Sensei said that she was one of the kindest and most beautiful women he had ever met, but she had a really bad temper that got her the nickname 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero' back when she was just starting out at the Academy. Turns out that she was bane of bullies..."

"...Really?" Karasu mumbled thoughtfully while looking at the red haired woman in the photo, thinking back on what Jiraiya had told her earlier that morning about Naruto's own temper. Setting the photo down, she picked up one of the storage scrolls and read the writing on it. "I think I found one of your parents' jutsu scrolls, but there's a weird looking seal on it that won't let me open it."

"That's because it's a blood seal." Naruto spoke up while taking the scroll from her. "It's a special security seal that only lets certain people undo it by putting their blood on it and channeling chakra into it. Since the Old Man and Sensei were the ones that packed up my parents' belongings, they probably designed the seal to register my blood only. Safety reasons and all that."

"That's...kind of cool, actually." Karasu murmured with wide-eyed curiousity as she stared at the seal. "It reminds me of the Uchiha clan archives. Some of the jutsu scrolls require the Sharingan to read them and some even require fully matured Sharingan eyes."

"Hm. Interesting." Naruto commented idly while setting the scroll aside to study later on when he had time. They were quiet for a few minutes after that as they sorted out certain scrolls from the others such as scrolls that contained his parents' clothes from the few jutsu scrolls they had left behind or dishes and other similar things sealed away for easy storage. It wasn't long before he noticed that Karasu was getting a little sluggish and lazy in her efforts to help him, the dark haired kunoichi yawning tiredly.

He wasn't surprised she was tired; it was a little after midnight already. He _was_ surprised, however, when she started leaning against him a few minutes later, moments away from falling asleep completely. Blushing from the close contact, Naruto wanted desperately to pull away or make her go to bed, but...she just looked too comfortable to disturb. Part of his mind was shell-shocked from how close she was, another part was busy battling against the rare perverted thoughts floating through his head, and the rest just couldn't resist admiring how peaceful and...beautiful she looked.

Naruto's face instantly turned crimson at that thought, having never really thought of Karasu as just a girl; a rather attractive one, at that. She had always just been his friend and rival, sort of how a sibling would be, but...He didn't know what it was that had changed. Maybe it was because of Jiraiya's perverted habits starting to rub off on him, maybe it was because he was going through puberty with the hormones and all, or maybe it was because he wasn't the same oblivious idiot he used to be and was finally noticing things he never paid attention to before...

 _'This is SOOO not happening right now.'_ Naruto mentally protested as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force the thoughts of Karasu being more than just his friend out of his head. That was when Karasu decided to wiggle her way under his arm and lean against him more fully with her arms loosely wrapped around his middle, her head leaning against his shoulder with her forehead pressed against the side of his neck. His eyes popped back open instantly while his blush increased several-fold.

"Mmm..." Karasu moaned out softly with the faintest of sleep-smiles on her face as she nuzzled his shoulder, her body autonomously attempting to cuddle up against the source of intense warmth she was next to. Strangely, Naruto found himself calming back down a few moments later as he stared down at her, his body frozen in place as he tried to figure out what he should do. Seeing her look so... _gentle_ made him smile a little bit, knowing it was her true self.

After the massacre, Karasu had been in a very delicate state during the first couple days while recovering from the genjutsu her brother had cast on her. She had actually been rather nice, if not a bit cocky and arrogant, prior to that terrible night, but her mind had nearly collapsed on itself afterwards. From what she had told him and what he had read from the medical and psychiatric reports she had shown him, Karasu's demeanor would switch from angry and violent to severely depressed and potentially suicidal at varying degrees with little to no transfer between moods; it was sort of like someone repeatedly flicking a light switch on and off at random intervals.

While she never admitted it to anyone or let it show in front of others, even Naruto, the blonde knew that after her mind had evened back out that she developed the usual cold, tom-boyish, and sometimes aggressive demeanor she now had as a defense mechanism, a metaphorical shell to protect her true self from the outside world. In reality, Karasu was actually quite feminine and 'girly' on the inside, but never really showed it, her darker side believing it to be a weakness and she irrationally despised any weaknesses she may or may not have because of what her brother had done to her. The only times her true gentle self actually showed was whenever she was sleeping, as odd as it might seem, or whenever she was in the privacy of her own home where no one could see.

Naruto stopped his internal psycho-analysis of his childhood friend and rival when Karasu's grip around his waist tightened a little bit, an almost unheard whimper escaping her from the possible beginnings of a bad dream. Sighing quietly, he finally relented.

"Alright, alright, I get it." He whispered quietly before adjusting their positions so that he could get his arms under her. Picking her up bridal-style, Naruto stood up with Karasu tenderly cradled in his arms before gently laying her on the bed and pulling the covers over her, deciding to take advantage of the situation by silently slipping out of the room in search of a certain couch downstairs.

However, he winced slightly and froze half way to the door when he heard Karasu let out a quiet groan from her spot on the bed in her sleep. Sighing heavily and rubbing the back of his neck, Naruto let his shoulders sag with resignation before turning around and heading back to the bed, already pulling his tank top over his head and letting it drop to the floor. He simply couldn't let girls be in distress at any point; he was just too kind to do that...

"You are _not_ making a habit of this..." Naruto mumbled under his breath as he slipped under the covers. Almost immediately, Karasu snuggled up against him, her head resting on his chest instead of the pillow with one arm draped across his stomach. Cheeks burning red, Naruto couldn't help feeling like a human space heater with how Karasu pressed herself flush against his side...

xXx

"Mmmm..." Groaning quietly as she stretched a little bit, Karasu slowly opened her eyes and found herself alone in bed, something that kind of confused her. She didn't remember getting in bed last night...and if Naruto ended up chickening out and slept on the couch, she was going to punch him as hard she could. Sitting up and tucking her bangs behind her ear so they weren't in her face, she rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned, stretching again. She didn't know if it was the bed or something else, but she felt more rested than she had ever been in years...

Before she could do anything else, she caught a whiff of something cooking. Something that smelled delicious. Almost as if she were sleep walking, Karasu, uncaring of her messy and disshevled bed-hair, didn't realize she was already half way down the stairs a minute later until she heard the sound of dishes being set on the bar-like counter that divided it from the den. It was only then that she realized that Naruto was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for them.

 _'I didn't know he could cook...'_ She thought idly before slipping into the tall chair that sat in front of the counter, something she didn't remember being there yesterday, but didn't pay it any attention. All of her focus was on the steamed rice, nori, and tamagoyaki that sat before her. Picking up her chopsticks and muttering a still-sleepy 'itadakimasu', Karasu lazily took a bite of her tamagoyaki first before starting to wolf down her meal seconds later; it was a rather common breakfast, but there was something about it that made her mouth water from the taste.

She paused part way through, however, when she heard Naruto, fully outfitted in his armor with the exception of his mask, quietly laughing at her; she never even noticed when he had sat down beside her to eat his own breakfast. The lone Uchiha kunoichi had the decency to blush a little, embarrassed by her sudden disregard for table manners.

"I take it you like my cooking?" He teased lightly, getting a somewhat shy nod from her with a small sheepish smile on her face. Letting out another quiet chuckle, Naruto shook his head before taking another bite of his rice. "You should start getting ready after you're done eating. Teams assignments are today."

Karasu merely nodded as she took another bite of her meal, trying to at least maintain _some_ of her table manners despite how good Naruto's cooking was...

xXx

"Oh, come on!" Naruto complained loudly while covering his face with his hands, having just found out where he was ranked amongst the others in his class; the bottom of the list. Beside him, Karasu was torn between laughing at her friend's plight and trying to console him, but remained as detached as she normally was. Despite Naruto's over-dramatic reaction, he knew the reason why he was ranked at the bottom was because he hadn't been present in the Academy for so long. Thus, he had virtually no records of test scores or attendance, leaving him at the bottom of the list...and then he saw where Karasu was ranked. Jumping back and jabbing a finger at the list posted on the wall with the flames of outrage in his eyes, he continued with his over-reactive behaviour. "Ah! This is bullshit! How are you in first place and I'm in last?!"

"Because I'm that much better than you." Karasu teased, getting a fiery glare from the blonde beside her that made her smirk. "Why? Jealous?"

"Hmph..." Naruto snorted while turning his back on her and marching off in the direction of the classroom they had to go to for team assignments, his armored hands stuffed in his pockets. Karasu stopped herself from laughing at his reaction and followed after him. After picking a spot in the back of the class, Karasu would quietly poke fun at Naruto merely for her own amusement, the blonde grumbling under his breath and throwing the occasional sarcastic barb or half-hearted glare her way every once in a while. Neither of them really paid attention to Iruka as he gave a brief speech before listing the teams, not untill they heard their names, at least.

"...Team 7 will be comprised of Uchiha Karasu-" Iruka started, Naruto and Karasu listening closely the moment Karasu's name came out of his mouth. "-Sai, and Haruno Sakura."

"Oh, fuck! Not her..." Karasu groaned under her breath as she covered her face with one hand and let her head hang, her reaction confusing Naruto greatly. Seeing the look he was giving her, she decided to fill him in. "Sakura is batshit _insane_..."

"Really? She couldn't be that bad..." Naruto mumbled before Karasu discreetly pointed over towards the girl in question. His opinion started leaning in the same direction Karasu's did a moment later. Sakura was about 5'3" with about the same general figure as Karasu, only a little more athletic. Her skin was lightly tanned, her waist-length hair was bubblegum pink and styled in an undershave that had been pulled back and twisted into a thin braid, and her eyes were cold emeralds that stared at everything with the same look of bored apathy. Four parallel scars ran along the top left side of her head from just above her left temple towards the back of her head while a couple other scars criss-crossed what was visible of her upper arms, but Naruto didn't doubt that there were more that they couldn't see.

She was dressed in a dark crimson skin-tight sleeveless leotard with a turtleneck collar that had black along the sides and a white ring decorating the back of it, baggy black pants hanging off her hips with the black strip of cloth from her Konoha hitai-ate acting as a belt for them with the leggings tucked into heavy looking black knee-high combat boots that bore polished steel over the toes and heels, black bicep-high gloves on her arms with light grey ANBU-style bracers strapped to her forearms, and an unzipped dark crimson short-sleeved body-hugging hoodie with black fur lining and white rings decorating the sleeves half-way down her upper arms. Strapped to the side of either thigh were three kunai pouches while a basic equipment pouch sat behind either of her hips, a satchel-like equipment pouch situated between them along the back of her waist.

At the moment, she had her feet kicked up on the desk in front of her and her arms crossed over her modest B-cup chest. At first, he figured she was just the anti-social type...up until one of the other students tried to sit down in the empty seat beside her. Without even glancing at them, she kicked the chair they were about to sit in, moving it over just enough for the other genin to miss the chair completely and fall to the ground. When the genin went to complain, Sakura, literally, _growled_ at the poor boy as if she were a rabid dog. The kid couldn't get away from her fast enough...

"Okay...Maybe you're right..." Naruto mumbled quietly and a little uneasily. Not only was he not teamed up with his childhood friend and rival, but said rival was on the same team as the resident psychopath...and were those _fangs_ he saw a moment ago?

That was when he realized that he hadn't heard his name get called yet and Iruka had already put away the list of genin teams...

"Now that that is out of the way...Naruto-san?" Iruka commented before calling out, catching the blonde's attention before Naruto could start worrying or freaking out. "Hokage-sama wanted to speak with you after team assignments."

"Oh...Okay." The blonde mumbled, feeling a little numb while Karasu watched him get up and leave, her concern for him showing clearly in her onyx eyes...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Three

"You...wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" Naruto inquired softly as he entered the Hokage's office, numbly sitting down in one of the chairs set before the elderly ninja's desk. The Sandaime could only stare at the blonde with a hint of guilt, being the cause of Naruto's depressive state, but he could only hope his plan worked out in the end.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. As you've probably figured out, you weren't placed on a genin team. I apologize about that, but you were a late enrollee. Not even _I_ can circumvent the rules when it comes to the Academy." The Sandaime began to explain, mentally wincing when he noticed that it was doing nothing for the boy's mood. "However, I did find a couple loop holes and pulled what few strings I could..."

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?" Naruto questioned curiously, tilting his head slightly with mildly narrowed eyes. This time, Hiruzen couldn't help grinning slightly.

"Well, while you can't be placed on a three-unit genin team like the other new graduates due to the uneven numbers, there are still a few options left for you." The wizened 'Professor' couldn't stop himself from smiling a little more as the light started returning to Naruto's eyes, the teen seeming more like himself with every new bit of information. "As of right now, you have three options to choose from, each having their own benefits and consequences. The first of them is to join an already existing team that is short one member. It would be considered a transfer, meaning the team as a whole would be denied the chance to participate in the Chuunin Exams that Konoha will be hosting later this year along with barring the team from taking on certain kinds of missions for a while. However, you would potentially become friends with the other genin and jounin sensei that would be on the team and learn quite a bit from each of them, if not teach them a few things. Your second option is to undergo an apprenticeship under a jounin that would be willing to teach you directly and individually, but there are few that are willing to take on a single student and fewer still that are available..."

"And the third option?" Naruto questioned curiously, already thinking over what he could do.

"Unlike the other two options, the third one has the greatest drawbacks to it. You would be given the special designation as a Tokubetsu Genin and made a one-unit team, meaning you would not have team mates to rely on and you would not have a jounin instructor to guide you or teach you anything; you would have to be entirely self-sufficient, both in your training and during missions. Normally, I wouldn't even allow it to be an available option, but after your encounter with Mizuki the other night, I am willing to make an exception just this one time..." Hiruzen explained, but the revelation was a half-truth. The true second half of his reason for allowing the chance to become a solo-operating genin was because of the reports Jiraiya had sent him in the past concerning Naruto's skills. "If you choose to become a Tokubetsu Genin, you would have to undertake a higher amount of missions between now and the Chuunin Exams if you wish to enter, you would have to attend and some times participate in certain meetings that would relate to genin teams and such, and you would have to undertake the responsibilities the jounin sensei would normally have such as turning in written mission reports as well as verbal reports, filing team related forms for certain events, and the like. Since the village's founding, Konoha has had only twelve Tokubetsu Genin with only six making it to chuunin and only one of those six ever making it to jounin..."

Naruto was silent for several minutes as he contemplated his options, his gaze turned downward and not really focusing on anything in particular as he weighed the pros and cons of each choice. Joining a genin team would give him the chance to make friends and learn more about the ninja arts, but would delay him and the others from getting a promotion or at least trying to obtain said promotion. Becoming an apprentice to a jounin would put him on the fast track to getting stronger since he would be recieving direct training from the jounin, but there weren't very many that were able to take on an apprentice or even want one, so there was the risk of the jounin that takes him on being unable to help him in his own specializations and such. Becoming a Tokubetsu Genin would leave him on his own with no one to teach him and no team mates for back-up should he be out in the field...

But he was a powerhouse and he knew it. Not even counting the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto had more chakra than most jounin, even though his control over that chakra was worrying at times, his base physical strength was nearly five times the average of other ninja, and he was no stranger to being out-numbered and out-matched in a fight, so it wouldn't be too different than what he was used to. Not only that, but he had a decent self-healing ability from both his Uzumaki heritage and the Kyuubi's presence inside of him, he had above average knowledge of advanced fuinjutsu, a decent ninjutsu arsenal that was a little too destructive to use around others, had been taught Senju Tsunade's strength enhancement technique by the woman herself, and could spam Kage Bunshin all day long in hordes. Plus, he still had his parents' jutsu scrolls to look through and learn from...

"You know, Old Man..." Naruto started while looking up at the Sandaime, a mischievous glint shining in his eyes that made it obvious to Hiruzen that Naruto was grinning impishly under his mask. "I always did like a challenge...Now, what do I have to sign to become a Tokubetsu Genin?"

xXx

Later that afternoon, Karasu trudged into Naruto's home a bit irritably; first, Kakashi was late by two hours, like he always was, then Sai started cracking stupid jokes about her and Sakura being fat, and then after the two kunoichi beat the shit out of him, Sakura decided to turn around and make a snide comment about her flat-ish chest...It had been one long and aggravating afternoon with her 'team', which would be made official if they could pass Kakashi's stupid little test tomorrow. Thinking of teams, Karasu's mind switched over to her blonde friend and her irritation instantly flipped over to concern for Naruto, having seen the look in his eyes. It wasn't as bad as when they first came to the house he now lived in, but she still saw it; he was getting depressed again. Before she was even half way to the shower, Karasu turned on her heel and started searching through the house for him, but found no sign of him even having come back.

"Damn it, Naruto! Where the hell are you?" Karasu muttered to herself worriedly while moving for the front door, only to spot something on the kitchen's bar counter; a note. Picking it up, she absently read it out loud. "'Won't be back until late tonight. Left some take-out in the fridge for you. -Naruto'...Baka..."

Unknown to her, Naruto was using one of the training fields along the edge of the village. Shadow Clones were scattered everywhere, most working on chakra control exercises or studying some of his parents' scrolls while he and a clone sparred using taijutsu only. His eyes, mirrored by each of his clones, were narrowed slightly and cold, his mind focused entirely on getting stronger. He had been honest when he said he liked a challenge, having always had a knack for proving people wrong and doing the impossible, but even Naruto knew not to fool around now that he was a Tokubetsu Genin. He was going to be facing far tougher challenges ahead of him than any of the others that graduated from his class and even more still; he was _not_ going to let those challenges crush him under their weight. With his indomitable stamina and massive chakra reserves, the momentum he had already built up in his training so far would undoubtedly carry him on through the night, at least until dawn. It wouldn't be the first time he had done it and most definitely wouldn't be the last...

"Tch!" Naruto scoffed slightly as he and his clone locked hands again, both blondes glaring into each other's eyes as their foreheads touched, pushing back against each other with everything they had while anchoring themselves to the ground with chakra. Not just that, but they both amplified their already incredible strength with chakra as well, the amount of pressure they were exerting on the other being enough to crush diamonds into powder between their armored palms...Yet neither one budged. While rather lacking in actual fighting, the deadlock had drawn the attention of some of the other clones, mostly those busy with chakra control exercises. Being a Sensor-type shinobi, though not a very good one yet, Naruto's clones were as well and they could feel their chakras clashing, trying to overwhelm the other through sheer brute force.

Grinning wolfishly and viciously beneath his armored mask just as he was sure his clone was doing as well, Naruto was glad that he over-powered the Shadow Clone he was locked with, having actually put a little over half of his remaining chakra reserves into the clone to make sure it lasted longer than normal since his chakra replenished itself rather quickly. Even still, Naruto was letting some of his chakra soak into the clone while they had direct contact with each other to make sure it didn't pop prematurely. He was simply having _way_ too much fun at the moment to let the clone dispell before he was done...

xXx

"He better not have done something stupid again..." Karasu mumbled quietly as she wondered what became of Naruto for what felt like the thousandth time; it had been almost a month already and she hadn't seen even a glimpse of him. Neither had anyone else from their graduation class, but then again, he didn't really know anyone when he came back to Konoha that still remembered him or anything. Then there were a few that used misdirection instead of giving her a straight-forward answer. The main one was the Sandaime Hokage, who seemed to enjoy watching her freak out every few days because she couldn't find Naruto.

What really messed with her head was the fact that every morning when she'd get up or when she'd come home from training or doing missions with her team, there would be a note from Naruto on the kitchen counter for her in her own apartment, having moved back to her own place a couple days after Naruto seemingly disappeared. Most of the time, it was paired with some form of take-out or home-cooked meal Naruto had made for her, the blonde knowing she had almost no talent in cooking and was more likely to set her kitchen on fire than prepare an edible meal for herself.

"Did you say something, Titless?" Sai questioned from her right, only for the Uchiha to punch him as hard as she could, Sakura busting out in hysterical laughter a second later while Karasu's face was flushed bright scarlet from rage and embarrassment; her chest size turned out to be a _very_ touchy subject for her. She had long since stopped yelling at the creepy teen and now resorted to simply hitting him in order to get him to shut up, much to Sakura's amusement. She was _not_ happy about her team...

"Hey, hey...Calm down, you three. We're almost there, so behave yourselves." Kakashi chastised lazily from behind the three genin as they neared the administrative building for another D-rank mission, never taking his eyes off the pages of his book. Turning the last corner, the building was within sight and that was when Karasu spotted her wayward rival for the first time in a month. He was standing out in front of the administrative building with someone else, a man Kakashi recognized as a fellow jounin that had just earned his rank a couple years ago and was currently the leading Raiton user and one of the fastest jounin in Konoha; Gouhou Arashi. Rumor had it that the man was thinking of taking on a genin squad come the next batch of Academy graduates.

Arashi was about twenty-three and stood at an even six feet with medium length shaggy black hair and bright electric blue eyes. He had a very noble and handsome facial structure that made many females swoon while a scar crossed over the end of his right eye brow at an angle from just above his brow to just above his right cheek bone, but his gaze and facial expression was cold and apathetic, often spooking and unnerving others more than anything. He held a slim and lean athletic build and wore the basic jounin uniform with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black fingerless gloves on his hands that had a silver metal plate covering the knuckles that had four flat rounded studs running across it while a metal plate covered the back of either hand with Konoha's stylized leaf symbol engraved on them.

"Arigato, Arashi-san." Naruto spoke up with an eye smile as he took the scroll Arashi was handing him. A moment later, the golden armored blonde turned and jumped to the roof of a nearby building, seemingly oblivious to Team 7's approach. Noticing them, Arashi glanced over and spotted the three genin and their sensei as they neared.

"Hm...Good afternoon, Hatake-senpai." The blue eyed jounin greeted stoicly, bowing slightly out of respect for the man that helped him train his Lightning affinity during his days as a rookie chuunin.

"What did Naruto want?" Karasu questioned bluntly, giving the dark haired jounin a steely stare that actually impressed Konoha's Lightning Bolt a little.

"Show a little respect, Karasu." Kakashi admonished lightly before looking Arashi and showing a little more tact than his student, knowing about the golden armored blonde; it always became village-wide news when a Tokubetsu Genin joined Konoha's active-duty ranks. "Good afternoon, Arashi-san. How has Naruto been handling his new responsibilities?"

"He has actually been quite busy, but he seems to be doing better than most others would; I think it helps that he apparently doesn't have a limit to the number of Kage Bunshin he can create." Arashi responded, the jounins' conversation confusing the three genin present a little, but Karasu was the most confused.

"Responsibilities? What do you mean?" She inquired, glancing between the two jounin suspiciously.

"Ah...You don't know, do you?" Arashi asked rhetorically while looking to the Uchiha kunoichi. "Naruto-san was given the rare opportunity to become a Tokubetsu Genin; a one-unit team without team mates or a jounin sensei. It is also one of the most difficult rankings to have. His responsibilities don't just include training himself and doing missions, but also the responsibilities the jounin sensei would have such as meetings related to the genin teams that the jounin sensei would have to attend along with the paperwork they would have to fill out and other similar things. Prior to Naruto-san, Konoha has had only twelve Tokubetsu Genin since the village's founding. Only half of them ever made it to chuunin and only one of those six ever made it to jounin. Naruto-san makes Konoha's thirteenth Tokubetsu Genin. To put it in simpler terms, he was essentially promoted to chuunin prematurely with limited privaledges and a slightly more difficult work load. Where he goes from here rests entirely on his shoulders."

"Tokubetsu...Genin?" Karasu mumbled uncertaintly, having never heard of it before. Just what has her rival gotten himself into this time?

xXx

"Hm...Oh, there it is." Naruto mumbled to himself quietly as he picked out the file he was looking for and started glancing through its contents. It was the file on himself, though classified as Team Zero due to regulations concerning Tokubetsu Genin. Pulling a simple pen out from one of his equipment pouches, Naruto added in the new information he needed to; number of completed missions, mission ranks, payment amount for each mission completed, mission objectives, a summarized report of each new mission, the necessary time and date for each new mission being added to his file, and so on. Unlike other jounin instructors that didn't update their team's file until the end of each week, Naruto updated his after he was finished with doing his D-rank missions that same day, but he had forgotten to do it yesterday, so he figured he'd do it before going to see the Hokage.

It was only then that he took notice of just how many D-rank missions he had done in the past month alone...

 _'Fourteen already?'_ He wondered with mild surprise, having not really paid attention to the exact number of missions he had been taking on and completing. Then again, he had been using Kage Bunshin to take care of them a couple times each week and having them update the file themselves before dispelling. Most of the time, he was either busy with his responsibilities as the sole member of Team Zero, in a meeting of some kind, or training. According to the rules, the standard genin team only had to do six D-rank missions, per genin member, to qualify for a nomination to enter the Chuunin Exams while Tokubetsu had to cover for each of the missing team members, meaning he had to get a total of eighteen D-rank missions to qualify to nominate himself. He could just have a couple clones finish off the last four D-ranks he needed and spend the rest of the time training for the Exams or taking on higher ranking missions to gain more experience in actual combat, so long as the Hokage allowed it.

Finishing up with what he was doing, Naruto put the file back in its rightful place and left the Department of Records, deciding to go speak with the Sandaime about possibly taking on a C-rank mission. The journey wasn't long and he wasn't in a hurry, so he decided to simply walk to the Hokage's office, his armor plated hands stuffed in his pockets. He was kind of glad no one had recognized just who he really was yet, but a little depressed by it all the same. Sure, he didn't have to deal with everyone glaring at him or whispering behind his back, but...now he was just another person on the street. Even those that knew him prior to his trip with Jiraiya that didn't treat him as if he was lower than dirt didn't recognize him. None of them didn't even recognize his name, but then again, most of his old 'haters' only knew him by his whiskered cheeks...

"Ohayou, Naruto-kun." Greeted the kind and warm voice of a kunoichi he had come to know rather well in the past month; Hyuuga Asahi, jounin. Her smile went from a warm and tender greeting to mildly sheepish and a bit nervous. "You...are the real one, right?"

"Yes, Asahi-san." Naruto replied, laughing quietly with an eye smile; she had a tendency to start conversations with his clones, thinking she was talking to the original. "I'm the real one this time."

Asahi, only twenty years old, stood at about 5'7" with silky raven black waist-length hair bound near the end with a white hair band covered in thick snowy white faux fur, her skin the usual soft cream colored complexion most Hyuuga naturally possessed. She was dressed in a lavender knee-length battle dress with a slit running up the front of her right thigh for more freedom of movement with mesh straps that continued along the low-cut collar to hint at some of her C-cup cleavage, a pair of mesh shorts under her skirt, an odd dark indigo purple leather armor-like piece that covered her back and attached to her battle dress just in front of her shoulders as well as at either side of her slim waist with snowy white faux fur along the edges over her shoulders and all the way around her waist, a royal purple waist-cape situated around her waist that reached down just past her knees at a triangular cut with a split tail at the end, a single fingerless mesh glove on her right hand, black knee-high open-toe kunoichi boots on her feet with a slightly thicker heel that gave her an addition two inches in height, a pair of kunai pouches strapped to the side of her right thigh under the skirt of her battle dress, and her Konoha hitai-ate tied around her neck on a strip of black cloth.

"Oh, thank goodness." She sighed in relief with her gloved hand on her chest, eyes closed serenely with a soft smile. Looking back to the armored blonde, Asahi shot him a beaming grin. He would never openly admit it himself, but in Naruto's and many other men's opinions, she had a smile that was just as beautiful as her namesake; Morning Sun. "I just happened to see you leaving the Department of Records and decided to say hi. You know, you're becoming quite the workaholic, Naruto-kun. You need to relax a little bit and not rush into everything all the time."

"Yeah, I have been running myself a bit ragged, haven't I?" Naruto agreed with a sheepish eye smile, rubbing the back of his head slightly. "I guess I got kind of excited about doing everything on my own from the start and just got used to being so busy all the time."

"Don't we all?" The Hyuuga kunoichi remarked playfully, having been about the same way when she was first promoted to jounin at the age of seventeen, back when the Academy graduation age was still twelve instead of sixteen like it was now. "So, where were you off to? Since you're not running around like usual, I'm guessing you're not that busy today?"

"Yeah, I was already thinking about taking it a little easy today, but I wanted to ask the Hokage about possibly getting a C-rank mission to add to my file." Naruto answered, surprising the jounin a little.

"Oh? Already going for higher ranking missions, eh? Seems like someone's pretty confident in themselves." Asahi teashed lightly. Due to his armored mask, she never saw Naruto's embarrassed blush, but he eye smiled nonetheless. "Just remember what I said earlier; don't push yourself so hard. I have to get going, so I'll talk to you some other time, Naruto-kun."

"Alright. Until next time, Asahi-san." The blonde returned in departing, the Hyuuga woman taking to the roof tops once more. Rubbing the back of his head as he slouched, Naruto let out a heavy sigh of relief; even after a month of almost daily small talk conversations with her, either in person or accidentally through clones, he still wasn't entirely comfortable around women. The only reason he didn't act shy or started blushing up a storm or anything was because of being around Jiraiya for so long, the perverted old hermit. Taking after Asahi's example, Naruto simply decided to avoid any more distracting thoughts and took to the roof tops, continuing on his journey to visit the Hokage. Only a couple minutes later, he was standing before the door to the Sandaime Hokage's office, knocking three times a moment later.

"Come in." The lone occupant of the room called out from within. Stepping inside, Naruto watched as the Sandaime glanced up at him and smiled brightly, obviously happy for the distraction from his paperwork, but the blonde still caught the look in the elderly man's eyes; he was thinking about something and it wasn't good. "Ah, Naruto-kun! What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if there was any chance I could get a C-rank mission." Naruto answered as he came to a stop in front of the man's desk. "It would give me some experience in actual combat to help buffer my skills."

"Ah, I see..." Hiruzen mumbled as his smile faultered slightly. He had been expecting it eventually, but he still didn't like the idea of it. Sure, the boy was strong, much stronger than most others in his generation, but the Sandaime still thought of Naruto as a grandson. As such, he felt responsible for him and defaulted to semi-protective tendencies on occasion. At the moment, however, he wasn't going to stand in his way. "...I have two C-ranks available right now; one is an escort mission to Wave Country and the other is to investigate a clan-owned village in Forest Country."

"Hm..." Naruto hummed quietly in thought, scratching the back of his head slightly. Considering it was an escort mission, he'd probably get at least a good fight or two from some bandits on the Wave Country mission, but he wasn't very fond of the ocean and all. Plus, he had been to Forest Country once before during his travels with Jiraiya and knew the land there a little better. He sighed and shrugged slightly. "I guess I'll go to Forest Country. Anything I need to know?"

"I had been in contact with the leader of the Akajuu clan for the past few weeks. Apparently, a large number of bandits had been harrassing them recently and the Akajuu clan leader was requesting some assistance with them..." Hiruzen began while passing Naruto the mission scroll for him to review. "...and then I never heard from them again. I was already planning on sending someone to investigate, but most of the ones I wanted to send have been busy elsewhere."

"I won't let you down, Old Man." Naruto remarked, already turning around to leave the office while waving over his shoulder. Once he was past the door, he was already making a Shadow Clone to sign the mission off as taken with the Hokage's secretary. A minute later, he stopped by his home to make sure he was well equipped for the mission ahead. Keeping his supplies in storage scrolls made things a lot easier when it came to packing, keeping non-combat equipment stored in the middle two pouches behind his waist while any weapons and combat-oriented items were kept in the two directly behind his hips. He also took a moment to adjust the scrolls hanging from his belt at his hips, each one being last resorts for him should things get too dangerous. Grabbing one last item, Naruto smirked slightly under his mask; an old somewhat tattered and torn baggy black hooded poncho he used to wear in order to hide his shiny golden armor.

Throwing it on as he left his home with his long pony-tail pulled forward over his right shoulder and loosely coiled around his neck, Naruto made a b-line straight for Konoha's West gate, reaching it in record time in his excitement about getting out of Konoha again; he honestly missed traveling like he used to. After signing out at the gate, Naruto took to the trees almost immediately and adjusting his course to the North in the direction of Forest Country. Since it was still about mid- to late-morning, he figured he could reach the border by nightfall, rest for the night, then reach Akajuu Village by around mid-morning if he left camp by sunrise. Without anyone to take the night watch, he was going to have to get creative with his Kage Bunshin...

"One thing after another..." The blonde sighed while leaping from the latest branch he landed on...

xXx

"Okay, I shouldn't be that much further from Akajuu Village. It should be..." Naruto mumbled quietly to himself while looking at the map that was with the mission scroll the Sandaime had given him. It took a minute, but he put his finger to one spot. "Here...Hm, only two kilometers from here? Should only take a couple minutes, then."

 _ **"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"**_ Kyuubi suddenly roared from within Naruto's mind, spooking the blonde and nearly making him fall from the branch he was crouched on, struggling to keep his balance while trying not to drop the map, the fist-sized canteen he was drinking from, or the rather tasty protein bar he had been snacking on. After rebalancing himself, Naruto huffed irritably.

 _"You nearly made me fall, kitsune-teme!"_ Naruto mentally snapped in response, getting a sound crossed between an annoyed growl and an amused chuckle from the Bijuu sealed inside of him. _"Do you really need to be so loud?!"_

 _ **"If it'll make you shut up and stop talking to yourself so much, then yes, I do!"**_ The Nine-Tailed Fox snarled back. Naruto scoffed out loud as he finished his protein bar and took another sip of his canteen before putting it away.

 _"You REALLY need to chill out, furball."_ Naruto finally replied before temporarily cutting off the mental link as he folded his map up and stuffed it in one of his equipment pouches. Jumping to another branch, Naruto made his way to his chosen destination, but as he drew closer, he caught a scent on the wind, one that unsettled him; smoke and blood. Eyes narrowing dangerously, Naruto pushed himself to move faster, his hands clenching into tight fists. Reaching the tree line, Naruto paused on the last branch in his path in a crouch, staring out at what remained of Akajuu Village, his eyes wide with shock; it was almost completely burned to the ground, most likely just a few days ago since there wasn't much smoke from the few smoldering remains of homes and other small buildings.

Jumping down and running into the razed village, Naruto formed a couple Shadow Clones before they scattered, checking the village for survivors. It wasn't very big, probably housing only about a couple hundred people at most. Even still, Naruto didn't find any bodies, but it didn't help boost his confidence that the Akajuu clan survived. The lingering stench of blood was still heavy, the packed soil roads cutting through the small village being stained with that same blood under the layer of ash, soot, and charred wood that choked them. That was when one of his clones dispelled, but unwillingly and without warning. Eyes narrowing as his fists clenched tight again, Naruto concentrated for a moment and 'scanned' the area with his chakra sensing ability, locating the new arrival just as the second and third clones were forcefully dispelled within a minute of each other, all without alerting his clones to their presence prior to attacking them.

 _'Whoever they are, they're pretty sneaky...and fast.'_ Naruto thought to himself while standing out in the open in the middle of the village's main road. It was only a couple minutes before he felt the chakra signature rushing him from behind. Reacting at the last second, Naruto spun around and pinned the person's right leg against his side with his left arm just as they tried to kick him in the back, his right hand wrapping around their throat as he completed a full rotation with his attacker in his grip, slamming them back-first into the ground directly in front of him. His eyes instantly widened, spotting the indentifying markings of an Akajuu, according to the details in the mission scroll.

The young woman, probably around his age from the look of her, was roughly 5'6" in height with a lithe and athletic, if not a bit voluptuous, hourglass figure. Her shaggy, almost knee-length hair was a distinct dark crimson streaked with bits of dark black in some areas and along the tips of her slicked-back bangs with a large teal colored metal bead of sorts holding her hair together near the end. Her feral-looking eyes were a startlingly bright teal color with black slit pupils, natural dark red eye shadow lining them along the top and corners. Her fingers were tipped with short claw-like nails that she kept painted black and he could only assume she had four sharp fang-like canine teeth in her mouth. Either way, she was definitely an Akajuu.

She was dressed in a pair of slightly baggy black pants with slit-like openings at the sides of her broad hips that showed off the outer sides of her toned thighs while the leggings were taped down with black cloth from her knees down to her ankles, black tabbi socks covered her feet with dark crimson waraji for footwear, dark crimson greaves were strapped to her shins and the tops of her feet, a very tight-fitting midriff-bearing black sleeveless turtleneck top covered the upper half of her torso with a diamond shaped cut-out in the middle of her chest to show off the cleavage of her admittedly large E-cup breasts while her flat and toned stomach was left bare, a thin dark crimson sash was wrapped tightly around her slim waist, black fingerless bicep-high gloves covered her arms with a dark crimson leather band sinched half-way up either of her biceps to hold them in place, dark crimson bracers strapped to her forearms and the back of her hands with three dark crimson metal claws extending from the plate on the back of either of her hands between her knuckles with the middle claw on either bracer being the longest of them, and a black scarf wrapped around her neck and lower half of her face like a mask.

"Uragh!" The woman roared defiantly a second later as she recovered from the mildly stunning impact, swinging her right claws at Naruto's face at the same time. Eyes going wide, Naruto was forced to let her go and lean back to avoid losing an eye. Unfortunately, that was what the woman was hoping for. Left leg still extended upward from the blonde's hold on her, she twisted her body and 'rolled' on her shoulder before sweeping Naruto's legs out from under him, flooring the cloaked Tokubetsu Genin and leaving him lying on his back. Before he could get back up, the woman was on top of him. Literally. Straddling his chest with her knees on his biceps, she cocked her right fist back as if to spear her claws through his eyes and forehead, her left hand braced against his chest at the base of his neck. Instead, she paused, glaring venomously at him. "Who are you?! Come to finish me off like you bastards did with the rest of my village?!"

"Wha-No!" Naruto shot back, a little nervous at the moment; it was mostly because of the really pointy and deadly claws aimed to stab him in the face at the moment. Then again, he should have been a little smarter about everything. The young woman, obviously one of the Akajuu clan's few ninja, was feeling about like Karasu did after the destruction of her clan; scared, angry, vengeful. He probably shouldn't have reacted with violence like he had, but it wasn't like she gave him much of a choice or any real reason not to beforehand. "I'm from Konoha! I was sent to check on your clan after we lost contact with you, damn it!"

"..." She only narrowed her eyes, obviously not very trusting of anyone at the moment. Sighing heavily in exasperation, Naruto closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the ground.

"My hitai-ate's around my waist. The mission scroll is in an equipment pouch on my lower back, the one to the right of my spine; its the tan and green scroll." He sighed out begrudgingly. Her eyes narrowed a little more.

"Move and I'll kill you before you can even blink." She hissed at him before getting off his chest, glancing back and forth from his face to his poncho with the claws on her right hand held at Naruto's throat, checking under his poncho with her left hand. Seeing the stylized leaf symbol of Konoha on the hitai-ate situated around his waist, just like he said, she risked relaxing a little bit, but kept her claws where they were. She then prodded his armored cheek with her claws. "Roll over. _Slowly_."

"Geez...Bossy, much?" Naruto grumbled under his breath while doing as instructed, but it only made the woman drop her knee into his back, coaxing out a slight grunt of pain from the blonde. "Alright, alright! I get it...No more back-talk."

"..." The woman was quiet for a couple minutes as she rummaged through the equipment pouch Naruto had mentioned before finding the proper scroll, glancing through it a moment later. She then glanced at the back of Naruto's hooded head, her knee still pressing into his back. "You...really are from Konoha..."

"That's what I said a minute ago...Gah! Quit doing that!" Naruto remarked sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, only for the Akajuu woman to put more weight on her knee, getting a growl of irritation from the blonde for her efforts. A moment later, she stood up and, by absorbing the small amount of chakra in her bracers, retracted her blade-like claws, the scarlet talons disappearing as if they never existed to begin with. "Can I get up now?"

"Yeah..." She mumbled before helping him to his feet. Dusting himself off, Naruto sighed before holding his hand out, the woman handing the scroll back to him. Although he had been a little irritated with the rough treatement, Naruto was instantly drawn in when he saw the anger in the woman's eyes give-way to sorrow and pain, but she did well not to let it take over completely. "I'm Benihime, by the way. Akajuu Benihime."

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replied, holding his hand out to her politely despite the slight sarcastic barb he threw in a moment later. "Pleased to meet you..."

"...Sorry for attacking you like that." Benihime mumbled apologetically as she shook his hand briefly, the blonde letting go of his irritation almost immediately after. "I thought you were one of the people that...attacked my clan."

"No, it's okay. I understand...A friend of mine went through something similar back when we were kids." Naruto consoled and admitted, putting a hand on the red haired woman's shoulder comfortingly. It seemed to make something click in her head, however, as the restraint she showed was suddenly gone. Eyes going wide, Naruto could only stare down at the young woman as she practically tackled him, holding him as tight as she could while strangled sobs rocked her body with her face buried against his chest. Eyes softening, Naruto slowly and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the grief-stricken Akajuu kunoichi, holding her close as he closed his eyes and soothingly rubbed her back. "It's okay now. You're safe...Let it all out..."

Benihime's sobs only got louder and her grip on him tightened, but neither bothered him. A small, sad smile formed on his face under his mask as he held the distraught kunoichi, already knowing that they were going to be standing there for quite a bit...

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Gouhou- Inevitable Retribution

Arashi- Storm

Asahi- Morning Sun

Akajuu- Red Beast

Benihime- Crimson Princess


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Four

"So...you said there were missing-nin with the bandits?" Naruto inquired as it neared mid-afternoon, having let Benihime cry as much as she wanted earlier. Now, he was searching for any kind of clues that could lead him in the right direction as to where the bandits had gone. Scattered throughout the area were about a dozen of his Shadow Clones doing the same thing, but he kept Benihime with him so that he could talk to her more.

"Yeah. There were...only two in the attack, I think." She answered while crouching down and sifting through the ashes of burned down home. It was the lone hitai-ate in her clan, one worn only by the clan head; it was a piece of dark red metal that covered the forehead with two dark red oni-style horns on it and a set of four stylized fangs carved into the middle of it, two pointing down and two pointing up like the canine fangs of a snarling predatory animal. It should have had a strip of black cloth attached to it, but considering the fires the bandits had set to almost all of the buildings in the village, she wasn't surprised that the cloth was burned to ash and there were some scorch marks on the metal. She bit down on her bottom lip, choking down a sob that wanted to escape her; it had been her father's. Now, it was her's...

"Any idea where they were from?" Naruto inquired before glancing over at her and noticing the fresh tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Walking over to her and crouching down beside her, Naruto put a hand on her shoulder. "...Are you going to be okay, Benihime?"

"Huh?! Y-Yeah!" She responded while looking away stubbornly, hastily drying her eyes to keep him from seeing her cry. Taking a deep breath to calm back down, Benihime stuffed the hitai-ate plate into the equipment pouch behind her left hip and stood up, stepping 'out' of the burnt down home for a breath of fresh air with Naruto following her out. "I...I didn't get a good look at them. My father told me to stay out of the fight and hide. I didn't leave the clan's scroll vault until the next morning..."

"...Again, I'm sorry for bringing up any bad memories." Naruto apologized. "Do you happen to know which direction they went when they left or where they came from when they attacked?"

"Um...I...I think they came from the North-East." She answered hesitantly after a few seconds of hard thought. Pulling out his map, Naruto examined the topographical details in the direction Benihime had said.

"Hm...That'd put them pretty close to the Rice Country border..." He mumbled quietly to himself while tapping the map since there was a valley that cut through Forest Country in the direction of Rice Country with only a couple spots that let someone cross it without worrying about the sheer hundred foot cliffs on either side of it. Just North of the valley, however, was mostly heavily wooded foot hills all the way to Forest Country's Eastern shores. He'll send out a few Shadow Clones to scout ahead later on so they don't end up going the wrong direction and wasting energy if and when they go to track the bandits down. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he put his map away, Naruto noticed the sadness was showing more clearly in her eyes again; he needed to keep her talking. "If you don't mind me asking, what did your clan specialize in?"

"Oh, um...Tracking and beast taming, mostly." Benihime responded numbly, still having trouble thinking clearly, but it was understandable due to what she had gone through recently. Hearing the second part, Naruto gave her a look of surprised confusion, so she decided to elaborate, grateful for the distraction. "Using certain clan techniques, we could cast special genjutsu on animals that let us control them to a certain degree. After the genjutsu wears off, however, they revert back to their base nature as if nothing had changed. Some of my clan's Beast Masters didn't even have to use the genjutsu techniques and often had a constant animal companion...I was training to become one of them when we were attacked."

"And you say your clan specialized in tracking?" Naruto inquired, getting a nod from the red head. "How good of a tracker are you?"

"About average, personally, but some of our clan's ninja could smell and hear just about everything around them as far as a mile away in any direction." She answered while they started heading back to the center of the village. She then fussed with the scarf around her neck for a moment. "That's why my face is covered with my scarf right now. The smell of the burnt wood and ash and...blood...It's too strong for me, being this close to everything."

"Hm. Sounds kind of like the Inuzuka clan back in Konoha." Naruto noted idly. Having heard of their cousin-clan, Benihime nodded. That's when she thought of something Naruto had said earlier, back when they first 'met'.

"You...said you're an Uzumaki, right?" Benihime asked, getting a look of confusion from the cloaked and hooded blonde before he nodded. She almost smiled. "My clan is... _was_ descended from the Uzumaki and Inuzuka clans, dating back during the Warring Clans era a few decades before the Hidden Villages were founded..."

"R-Really?!" Naruto exclaimed, suddenly quite excited. Benihime couldn't resist giving him a strange look, having not expected him to get so...cheerful. "I can't believe it! I...I thought I was the last Uzumaki! Well...I technically still am, but still..."

"Have you...been to Uzushio yet?" Benihime asked cautiously, instantly regretting her question when Naruto's joy turned to sadness of his own, shaking his head negatively. "Whenever anyone in my clan finished their ninja training, they'd make a pilgrimage to Whirlpool Country to pay our respects to them. I made the trip last year...Maybe...Maybe I could take you there some day..."

"I'd like that very much..." He responded quietly with a small, but warm eye smile of gratitude. A thought occured to him, making him pause for a moment. "Were you able to save or recover any of your clan's scrolls? History, jutsu scrolls, anything?"

"Actually, they weren't even touched during the attack." Benihime answered, confusing Naruto a little bit again and making him tilt his head slightly. She pointed down at the ground. "We keep them safe underground in a special vault. That's actually what I had come to take care of when I saw you this morning."

"Well, I've got some spare storage scrolls if you need any." Naruto offered while taking out one such scroll to show her.

"Thanks. I wasn't really looking forward to carrying them all on my own." Benihime responded, giving him a small eye smile of her own. After leading him back towards the middle of the village, Benihime went to one of the larger buildings, despite being nothing more than a platform of blackened wood and ash. A couple minutes of searching around and she found the hidden hatch embedded in the floor, prying it open with some difficulty. "Come on, it's down here."

"Wow...The place looks like it was never touched." Naruto commented idly while following Benihime down the admittedly steep staircase, the hall being a bit narrow. Thankfully, it had handrails mounted to the walls to keep from falling. "And it's really, really dark down here..."

"This place is protected by seals we learned from the Uzumaki clan to keep our scrolls safe." Benihime responded, pausing for a moment to glance back at Naruto, her slit pupils having dilated to compensate for the darkness. "And we don't keep any lighting down here except for the main chamber to keep any unwanted visitors from finding our scrolls so easily. Akajuu have natural night vision...Speaking of which, do you need any help finding your way?"

"Actually, no. I can see just fine." Naruto answered honestly, pointing to his own eyes. "I've got pretty good night vision myself thanks to...certain circumstances."

"...You mean the Kyuubi, right?" Benihime asked casually as she started walking again, the question nearly making Naruto trip in his shock; she didn't so much as glance back at him. "You smell kind of like a fox and only Uzumaki have been known to contain the Kyuubi properly. Plus, Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi about sixteen years ago, so I just...kind of put two and two together. I'm sorry if I crossed a line or something..."

"N-No, it's alright..." Naruto stammered a bit sheepishly, also feeling a bit nervous about the subject. "It's just that I had a bit of a bad childhood back in Konoha because of it. I left on a training trip with my godfather at ten and spent the last six years traveling. The past month or so has actually been kind of nice since I haven't been harassed or anything because of my status as a jinchuuriki...Then again, no one recognizes me anymore, but it's just a matter of time before people start figuring it out..."

"I...I'm sorry to hear that." Benihime apologized as they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into a rather large, but lightless semi-circular room with five doors on the curved wall ahead of them. Benihime moved towards the second door on the left end, Naruto following close behind her. "I've only heard stories of how jinchuuriki are treated. I can only imagine how bad it must have been..."

"Eh, it wasn't _all_ bad. The Sandaime Hokage's always looked out for my well being since I was a little kid." Naruto answered with a shrug. "He's been something akin to a grandfather to me ever since then. Especially since I'm an orphan."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Benihime tried apologizing yet again while turning to face Naruto, only to have an armored finger pressed to her lips through her scarf to shut her up. She then blushed under her scarf when she saw him give her a sincere eye smile.

"You apologize too much, you know that?" He teased slightly, oblivious to the Akajuu kunoichi's burning hot cheeks as he retracted his hand and kept walking a bit. Fussing with her scarf a little bit, Benihime didn't understand why she was starting to feel nervous and self-conscious about herself the longer she was around the rather handsome blue eyed shinobi. Granted, she hadn't seen what the rest of him looked like because of his poncho, but he had been kind enough to simply hold her and let her cry for what felt like hours earlier and he seemed really understanding of her feelings and what she was going through. "So, is this it?"

"Huh, what?" She blurted out, snapped out of her thoughts about the caring blonde with her. Naruto, ever oblivious to the kunoichi's rapidly growing crush on him, gestured to the large pair of double doors set at the end of the hallway. Forcing herself to calm down, Benihime caught up to him and started explaining, but her cheeks stayed a little rosy. "O-Oh, yes. It's the last defence we have against intruders; a blood seal keeps the doors locked and other seals make them incredibly durable. If anyone somehow manages to force them open, special seals inside the room cast a really strong genjutsu that incapacitates anyone that tries to enter the room."

"Cool...I haven't had the chance to learn how to make genjutsu seals yet." Naruto commented while stepping closer to the doors, his well-trained eyes picking out the camouflaged seal runes, even in the pitch black darkness, while Benihime bit her thumb with her fang-like canines and smeared a bit of her blood on the seal set over the crease between the two stone doors. After applying her chakra to it, the blood seal suddenly glowed red for a few seconds before fading away. A second later, the stone doors started to open at a painfully slow rate, grinding against the stone floor and ceiling of the doorway as they did. Beyond them, torches instantly flared to life along the walls, illuminating the large room.

Naruto's eyes instantly went wide; from how Benihime made it sound, he was thinking there was only a few dozen scrolls. Nooo, there was close to several _hundred_ scrolls of all sizes neatly organized on large shelf-like scroll racks and bookcases set up all throughout the Akajuu clan's secret library.

"Holy shit..." He breathed out, slowly and cautiously stepping into the room with Benihime quietly giggling at his reaction from behind him. He then turned to face her, pointing back towards the scrolls in the room. "This is all of it...Right?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. That's all of them." Benihime laughed out before suddenly blushing more heatedly, realizing she had accidentally added '-kun' to his name. Thankfully, Naruto didn't seem to notice it as he wandered into the Akajuu clan library, already pulling out a couple storage scrolls. Using only a half-seal with his left hand, Naruto summoned up a pair of Kage Bunshin, passing a storage scroll to either one. Sighing quietly in relief since he apparently didn't catch what she said, she followed the blonde into the room.

"Alright. You take that section and you take that one over there. Try to keep everything organized." Naruto instructed his clones while taking out a storage scroll himself and kneeling down in front of another section of scroll racks. Unfurling the scroll he had, Naruto put his hands on the seal running throughout it and channeled a small amount of chakra into it. A moment later, a cloud of smoke erupted from it before revealing a stack of a dozen unused storage scrolls, surprising Benihime a little bit. Picking up a couple of them, he held them out to her. "You know how to seal things away in scrolls, right?"

"Yeah." She answered while taking the offered scrolls and heading to another section of the library. While Naruto and his clones got to work, Benihime snuck another glance at the blonde and smiled. Maybe there was still hope...

xXx

"S-Shit!" Naruto stammered out in surprise as he tripped on the last step as they left the library, partly blinded by the incredible glare of the late-afternoon sun, his hood not really helping as much as he hoped. Giggling behind him as the blonde hit the ground, Benihime let her amusement distract her before tripping over the same step as Naruto, her laughing stopping instantly while her eyes went wide.

"AH!" She cried out as she fell forward just as Naruto rolled onto his back and started to sit up. Their eyes met for a split second before impact, their foreheads colliding and knocking Naruto flat on his back while Benihime, after falling completely, curled up a little on top of the blonde with a soft whimper of pain, holding her hurting head in her hands. "I-Itai..."

"Oooww..." Naruto groaned quietly from his spot, still blinking the stars out of his vision before squeezing his eyes shut, his head throbbing from a mild headache. It didn't help that his eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the light, prompting him to pull his hood down over his face completely to block out the sun. Blushing beneath his mask a little bit, Naruto was cursing his clumsiness again; why was it always him that had the bad luck with things? Then there was the hysterical laughter echoing in his head, making him grit his teeth slightly. _"SHUT UP, KITSUNE-TEME!"_

 _ **"Oh, that was too good!"**_ Kyuubi laughed out, sounding like it was having a some trouble breathing. _**"Do...Do that again!"**_

 _'Asshole fox...'_ Naruto mentally grumbled to himself as he cut the mental link and started sitting up again, still holding his head in pain. Beside him, Benihime was already sitting up beside him with her legs tucked under her, rubbing her forehead tenderly with her head bowed down slightly so that her bangs hid her eyes. "...You alright?"

"Y-Yeah...S-Sorry..." Benihime stuttered out quietly, feeling really embarrassed by how awkward and graceless she was sometimes. It was just her luck that she'd get smacked upside her head by Karma while laughing at someone else's clumsiness...

"Stop apologizing..." Naruto muttered while pushing himself up to his feet, dusting off some of the ash as he did. When he tapped Benihime's shoulder, she jumped slightly and looked up at him in surprise before noting his outstretched hand. Blushing a little more under her scarf, she grabbed it with her own and let him help her stand back up. Looking back down at his poncho, Naruto sighed heavily upon seeing the grey-white stains from the ash that covered the floor. "Damn it...I can't go on a single mission without ruining this thing in some way, can I?"

"I'm sor-" Benihime cut herself short when Naruto glanced up at her with a cocked eye brow. Blushing heavily beneath her scarf, she was _really_ confused as to why she was acting like she was. Normally, she would barely ever apologize to someone, even if she knew she was in the wrong, and was the exact polar opposite of shy...so why was she now? Without even realizing it, Benihime bowed her head slighty, muttering a single word under her breath that made Naruto sigh again. "Sorry..."

"It's starting to get late. Do you have a camp set up nearby?" Naruto noted and then asked while glancing up at the sky, only to look back to Benihime.

"Y-Yeah, sort of..." She mumbled out. "It's near the river about a kilometer to the West of us."

"Alright. Lead the way, Benihime." Naruto remarked while holding an arm out towards the West, eye smiling at her. He never noticed how she blushed shyly under her scarf before doing as he said, walking in the direction of the camp she had set up away from her clan's destroyed village...

xXx

As midnight neared, Naruto stayed where he was next to the small camp fire. He had set up his tent for Benihime to sleep in since she didn't have any sort of shelter to protect her from the weather and such, the river being close by. Glancing over at the small woodland camouflaged tent, he smiled sadly beneath his mask. On the way to her camp site, he had seen the remains of a large funeral pyre, having obviously burned the bodies of her clansmen recently to keep their secrets from being discovered by anyone as well as to give them a proper send-off. Thinking of the tragedy she had been forced to experience, Naruto's resolve steeled, having made his decision earlier. He was actually just a Kage Bunshin tasked with keeping an eye on the girl, five others hidden amongst the trees around them, while the original was already tracking down the bandits.

 _'Don't worry, Benihime.'_ The clone thought to itself while adding another small log to the fire, the flickering flames reflected in his hardened sapphire irises. _'I won't let anyone hurt you again...'_

Miles away, Naruto, the real one, came to a stop near the edge of the bandits' camp, crouching on top of a branch while staring down into the small ravine they had taken refuge in. He could tell that they had lost more than half their numbers when they attacked the Akajuu clan, many of the unused tents having been dismantled and set aside. Forming a half-seal with his right hand, Naruto summoned a dozen Kage Bunshin with his plan in mind, all of them leaping from their spots in the trees and rushing the camp, his clones spreading out to take up their positions along the ravine's cliff-like ridge that encircled the camp. Just as he reached the camp, his clones flashed through a couple handseals before slamming their hands against the ground.

"Doton: Doryuu Heki!" All of his clones called out simultaneously, alerting the bandits to his presence as a towering wall of earth sudden rose up and completely enclosed the bandit camp, the clones dispelling as they used up all of the chakra they had been given. Naruto's eyes were narrowed dangerously once more, his eyes as cold as chips of ice. Bandits came clammering out of their tents, their shoddy armor and weapons clattering noisily as their eyes went straight to the fifty foot tall earth wall surrounding them on all sides.

"What the hell?! What's going on?!" One of the bandits cried amongst their startled murmuring and chattering. Fingers slowly curling into tight fists, Naruto gnashed his teeth, his eyes bleeding into crimson as Kyuubi let its chakra leak into Naruto's system as per the blonde's unspoken request.

"Over here, dumb fucks..." Naruto growled quietly from his spot, still standing at the base of the lone slope that led into the ravine. Despite keeping his voice low, everyone heard it and immediately faced the poncho-wearing blonde. Some of them laughed, thinking he would be an easy kill, obviously forgetting about the wall's sudden appearance. Many of the veteran bandits, however, got nervous. They knew of the things ninja could do, the earth wall being one of them. "The Akajuu clan sends their regards..."

"Wha-" One of the bandits tried saying, only for Naruto to throw a handful of kunai at them with a sweep of his right hand, each aimed for an instant-kill spot. Immediately, half a dozen bandits dropped to the ground, dead. Before the remaining eighty or so could fully react, Naruto ripped his poncho off and grabbed one of the scrolls at his hips, swiftly unfurling it and pressing his free hand to the center of the seal inside of it. In a puff of smoke, a seemingly mishapen piece of golden metal appeared in his hand before the blonde slapped it against his upper back behind his shoulders, the plate mounting itself to his back with his chakra while the scroll snapped shut in his other hand, holstering it once again. Clapping his hands together in front of his chest in the form of a Tiger seal with his extended fingers pointing out towards the bandits, Naruto activated the seals imbedded in the piece of armor.

"Taoreta Roku Busoushin no Chikara..." Naruto stated coldly and apathetically before four more arms of golden metal sprouted from the back of his shoulders with two left-handed arms behind his left shoulder and two right-handed arms behind his right shoulder. The top pair of arms had formed another Tiger seal pointing upwards just above his head while the bottom pair formed another Tiger seal, this one pointing downwards, just in front of his unarmored stomach. Many of the bandits started getting spooked, but they had nowhere to go. Like trapped rats, they commited an act of pure fear-fueled desperation as they charged him, the six armed blonde's hands already flashing through three different sets of seals, stating the name of two techniques as he finished their seals. "Katon: Dai Endan. Fuuton: Reppushou."

The bandits howled in terror and agony as the flames erupted from the hole in the front of Naruto's mask, the hurricane-force winds unleashed by the palm thrusts of his middle set of hands further enhancing the flames' heat and intensity, spreading to cover the entire group in seconds, burning them all to ash almost instantly. Cutting off the Dai Endan as the winds died down, Naruto kept his bottom set of hands in the downward Tiger seal they had started in, holding off on his 'finisher' as he waited for the smoke to clear out. Something was bugging him, though; where were the missing-nin that Benihime said had been with the bandits?

"Oh, my...He must really mean business, eh?" A mocking voice remarked from beyond the smoke as it started to thin. Staring at him from across the scorched battlefield was a six foot tall man wearing almost all black; black pants, black long-sleeve top, black cloth face mask, dark grey hunter-nin style mask, black gloves, dark grey Konoha-style flak vest with a black hood attached to the collar that was tossed over his head. Loosely tied around his neck was his scarred Konoha hitai-ate. Gripped in his hands were a pair of ninjato-like swords with curved blades and curved black handles. Beside the man was a woman wearing a black skin-tight full-body suit with dark red clawed bracers just like Benihime's on her arms, a set of dark red body armor set over her torso, dark red greaves strapped to her shins and the top of her feet, black closed-toe kunoichi sandals on her feet, and a black hunter-nin style mask over her face with the dark red Akajuu eye markings decorating the eye slits. Her hair color was similar to Benihime's, being dark crimson with black highlights and tips, but it was kept in a high pony-tail and only reached to the middle of her back. The man noted how Naruto's scarlet eyes narrowed furiously, the blonde recognizing the woman to be an Akajuu; a traitor to her own clan. "I think he's mad..."

"No..." Naruto hissed while his third pair of hands slipped from their upside-down Tiger seal to his 'praying' seal before separating, the wind around him kicking up into a surging vortex for a few seconds before condensing and splitting into six small 'lines', his armored hands grabbing a hold of all six wind swords; it was a more destructive variation of Kaze no Yaiba he called Roku Hakai Tekina Kaze. "I'm down right _pissed_..."

"Oh?" The man remarked, tilting his head curiously while Naruto raised all six wind swords above his head, only to swing them down and unleash six destructive currents of shredding wind straight for them. Both rogues instantly split up, heading in different directions. The masked man instantly recognized his folly the moment they were moving, his eyes watching as Naruto's body split into two identical beings via Kage Bunshin, either one still weilding all six wind swords. _'Shit!'_

Channeling chakra into his swords, the rogue man barely blocked the six armed blonde's first slash, a whirlwind of invisible razor blades whipping about him and leaving shallow cuts all over his body. From there, it became an intense speed-battle for the man, moving as fast as he could to block the wind swords, gritting his teeth as he ignored the pain of the cuts littering his body, fresh ones appearing every time he blocked one of the golden ninja's blades. Across the way, the Akajuu woman wasn't faring much better. She had blocked one of Naruto's wind swords and learned, just as her partner did, that it came with a price. Bloody cuts and scratches were everywhere on her body, the outer claw on her left bracer having been lost during the initial clash due to insufficient chakra being channeled into them to defend against Naruto's cutting Wind chakra.

"You betrayed your own people..." Naruto, the real one, growled as they locked blades again, this time with all six of his crossed over each other while the woman blocked with her claws crossed. She remained standing for only a second before the pressure doubled, dropping her to one knee as Naruto poured chakra into his arms to amplify his strength even more. "Your only reward is death..."

"Che...Sh-Shit..." The woman grunted out through gnashed teeth, her arms shaking with the strain of holding back her opponent's wind swords. It was suddenly lessened by a considerable amount when Naruto retracted two of the swords, only to swing them in an upward arc. Her eyes went wide beneath her mask as her remaining five claws were sheared from her bracers, twin parallel razor thin gashes running up her torso from her hips to her shoulders. Already falling backwards from the guard breaker, the Akajuu woman could only watch as Naruto swung all six of his wind swords back down in what felt like slow motion to her. When they drew close enough for her to feel the many conflicting wind currents from all six blades, she closed her eyes and let it happen...

In an explosion of wind, the woman's body was shredded by the infinite number of unseen blades until there was nothing left of her. Managing a lucky blow, the man dispelled the clone he had been faced with by cutting off one of its hands, thankful that it wasn't actually made of metal like the original. Despite the shallow victory, he could only stare in shock at the thick cloud of dust that shrouded the blonde Konoha shinobi and his partner, who had come to him and his bandits seeking to destroy her own clan in order to gain access to the Akajuu's most dangerous of techniques.

"Stupid woman..." He hissed under his breath before turning and running for the earth walls, having lost one of his swords during the sword battle with the Shadow Clone while the other was now useless due to the cracks in the blade. Using chakra to scale the verticle surface, it didn't take him long to get close to the top, but that was when he felt a hand grab the back of his head before the momentum behind it drove him face-first into the wall itself. Mask smashed against the packed soil and rock before being left to fall to the ground, the man stared up at the six armed golden _demon_ that stared back down at him with its terrifying blood red eyes...and then it moved, running down the wall and heading straight for him to continue its assault. Brown eyes going wide, the man could do nothing as one of the hands grabbed his ankle, the demon kicking off from the wall while twisting his body, only to sling him into the ground seconds away from landing and leave him lying in a shallow crater from the sheer power of the throw. "Guah!"

"You're not going anywhere, _trash_!" Naruto snarled before landing on the man's chest with a brutal double kick, ignoring the blood the man coughed up during mid-impact as ribs cracked and broke under the force. Kicking off and flipping in mid air, Naruto's six hands formed three different handseals while he took a deep breath, only to pull his hands apart and exhale, unleashing another Katon: Dai Endan. The man was unable to move, let alone attempt to dodge. Thus, he was burned to death, unable to even scream in pain. Landing on his feet a little bit away from the flaming corpse, Naruto took a few deep breaths, feeling Kyuubi's chakra receed back into the seal. Dropping to his knees as his four extra arms disappeared back into the plate mounted to his back, Naruto gasped for breath, suddenly far more exhausted than he had expected. "That took a lot more out of me than I expected...I shouldn't have used so many ninjutsu techniques..."

Taking the plate off of his back and storing it back in its proper scroll, Naruto slipped the scroll back in its proper holster before getting back up and forming one last handseal. Giving off a pulse of chakra, the earth walls he had erected in the beginning began to crumble and fall apart. Stumbling slightly as he started walking back in the direction of Benihime's camp, picking up and putting his poncho back on as he did, Naruto decided it would be best if she didn't know an Akajuu had betrayed her clan. Reaching into one of his equipment pouches, Naruto pulled out a protein bar before starting to snack on it as he walked, trying to restore some of his lost chakra as he headed back to Benihime's camp site. It wasn't long before he suddenly winced, one of his clones with the sole surviving Akajuu having been...'killed' by the enraged red head when she found out he wasn't actually there...

"Here's to hoping she calms down before I get there..." Naruto mumbled to himself a little nervously; his clone had learned what it felt like to get stabbed in the face by Benihime's claws...

xXx

Still wearing his hooded poncho, Naruto sighed quietly as they drew closer to Konoha, going by the road this time, Benihime walking ahead of him on the path. She hadn't said anything to him since giving him a very thorough tongue lashing earlier that morning when he got back to camp...and it was starting to bother him now that it was getting close to late afternoon. Sure, he'd gotten the silent treatement a few times before in the past, but that was back when he and Karasu were kids. At least she would still glare at him or punch him for no real reason. Thinking of the Uchiha, he figured it might do him some good to pay her a visit instead of just breaking into her apartment all the time to make sure she eats right without burning her apartment down. He then had a slight feeling of dread crawl up his spine as he thought about that. _'She's probably set up traps just to get back at me for disappearing on her without saying anything again...'_

"...I said I was sorry..." Naruto mumbled, talking to Benihime. She didn't react or even acknowledge the fact she heard him...and he was getting tired of it. Heaving a loud sigh of exasperation, Naruto walked a little faster to catch up to her before poking her in the side. Hard.

"OW! What the hell, Naruto?!" Benihime snapped at him, glaring at him while holding her tender side; he got her right in one of her floating ribs. He simply gave her a flat look that told her he wasn't amused with her childish punishment for him.

"...I needed to make sure you weren't a deaf zombie..." He mumbled back before continuing on his way, getting a look from Benihime as if he just grew a second head. Once she couldn't see, he was smirking mischievously beneath his mask, knowing it would have gotten a reaction out of her. The Akajuu might be a stubborn girl, but she was nowhere near the level of him or Karasu; they would get their point across no matter what. A moment later, however... "Itai!"

"Jackass!" Benihime snarled at him while marching past the now-limping blonde, having kicked him in the back of his leg. Eye brow twitching, Naruto knew they were either going to end up brawling before too long or he was going to get her to start talking to him again like she was yesterday.

"I get rid of her family's killers and this is how she treats me...Just great..." Naruto muttered to himself under his breath, rubbing the back of his thigh in an effort to get rid of the pain in it, but Benihime, true to her clan's senses, heard him. She spun around to face him, jabbing a finger into his chest.

"No, this is how I treat people that think they have to do everything for me!" Benihime growled while making Naruto take a couple steps back from her poking him. When she finished, however, she decided to throw in a little extra by stomping on his toes. On the other leg.

"Ow! God damn it!" Naruto hissed, both legs hurting now. "Stop hurting me!"

"You started it!" She shot back, glaring at him defiantly. It only made Naruto grind his teeth behind his mask.

"Bullshit! You wouldn't talk to me and I was getting sick and tired of being ignored!" Naruto argued back. Pouting childishly and stubbornly, Benihime crossed her arms under her chest and glared off to the side, her cheeks burning hot under her scarf.

"You should have at least told me where you were going..." She muttered irritably. Caught off guard by her suddenly getting quieter instead of louder, Naruto let his anger deflate somewhat and sighed heavily.

"And risk you following and possibly getting hurt in the process?" Naruto countered, shaking his head slightly. "There's a reason why I'm by myself, Benihime. I'm simply too destructive to fight effectively with team mates or partners or whatever..."

"...I'm still mad at you." She muttered quietly before taking a step closer and leaning against him, her arms still crossed over her chest stubbornly. Smiling slightly under his mask, Naruto pat the top of her head slightly before crouching down and hooking his arm behind her knees, catching her off guard as he lifted her up and sat her down on his shoulder. Blushing up a storm, Benihime looked like she was on the verge of a heart attack as she held onto him as tight as she could from her position. "N-Naruto! Put me down _right now_!"

"...Down?" He questioned with false innocence and Benihime instantly regretted it when Naruto tipped forward, making her fall forward off of his shoulder while he grabbed her by the ankle and hung her upside-down. She, predicatably, screamed as she fell forward, the blonde holding her out at arm's length to keep her from hitting him or anything. He then gave her a flat look, one eye brow cocked. "You going to start being nice again?"

"Y-Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! Just put me back on my feet!" Benihime cried almost instantly, the blonde doing as she wished and stood her back up on her two feet. The moment he let go of her, she whipped around and looked about ready to beat the living hell out of him, but...she suddenly stopped and leaned against him again, burying her face against his poncho-covered chest as she held onto him, shivering slightly. For a moment, he was confused, but then he realized that she was actually a little scared. "Don't do that..."

"I won't..." He mumbled quietly while gently hugging her for a moment. As they started walking again, Naruto glanced over at her. "Sorry for scaring you like that..."

"..." She stayed silent, rubbing her arm nervously while avoiding eye contact. The rest of their walk was spent in a relatively semi-comfortable silence...

xXx

"Ah...I'm sorry to hear about your family and village, Benihime-san." Hiruzen responded after recieving a summarized verbal report of the mission from Naruto, the red haired Akajuu standing beside him. "So, I take it that since you came to Konoha with Naruto, here, that you'll be joining us?"

"Hai..." Benihime answered curtly and quietly, her emotions running a little rampant again after recounting the events of her clan's demise.

"I'm sure you'll be needing lodgings..." The Sandaime trailed off as he started shuffling through some of his papers, having seen a temporary residency form somewhere amongst the chaos that littered his desk.

"Actually, she can stay with me if she wants." Naruto spoke up, surprising the room's other two occupants, the Akajuu beside him blushing slightly at the offer. "I have plenty of room at my place and...it'd give me a reason to go home every night."

"Only because you don't know how to relax once in a while." Hiruzen commented knowingly, giving the blonde a look that made Naruto eye smile sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Glancing between them, Benihime was completely confused and the Sandaime decided to explain. "Ever since he became a Tokubetsu Genin, Naruto rarely ever goes home. More often than not, we've caught him passed out in the records department while working on his paperwork or he trains himself into the ground until he passes out in the middle of a training field..."

"Wait, hold up!" Benihime called out before turning on Naruto, pointing a finger in his face with the blonde leaning back slightly and eyeying the finger warily. "You're just a _genin_?!"

"Uh... _Tokubetsu_ Genin...There's a difference..." Naruto mumbled in a small voice, his correction doing nothing to alleviate Benihime's apparent disbelief. Hiruzen sighed and palmed his face, wishing he hadn't taken the last of his aspirin that morning. He had a feeling he would need it very soon now that he had to deal with two teenagers currently bickering in his office...

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Doton: Doryuu Heki- Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

Taoreta Roku Busoushin no Chikara- Power of a Fallen Six Armed God

Katon: Dai Endan- Fire Release: Great Fireball

Fuuton: Reppushou- Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm

Kaze no Yaiba- Sword of Wind

Roku Hakai Tekina Kaze- Six Destructive Winds


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Five

"I still can't believe you're a _genin_..." Benihime muttered, practically pouting, while lounging on Naruto's couch in the den. Said blonde was busy starting dinner, his armor and equipment having been put up in the armory along with Benihime's. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the cloth mask portion of his top still situated over his mouth and nose, Naruto rolled his eyes while continuing to chop the various ingredients in front of him. "Why didn't you tell me you were still just a genin?"

"Tokubetsu Genin and I didn't think it was relevent at the time." He responded while scrapping the thinly sliced green scallions into both bowls of homemade ramen that had stir-fried ground pork, and sliced soft boiled eggs. Setting the bowls on the kitchen bar counter, having not yet purchased a dining room table, Naruto placed a pair of chop sticks over either bowl before placing the cooking utensils and pans he had used in the sink. Washing his hands and creating a Shadow Clone to take care of the dishes, Naruto stepped around the counter while pulling his mask down. "Now, stop complaining and come eat; dinner's ready."

"Ugh...Finally! I'm starving!" Benihime exclaimed while jumping to her feet and joining Naruto at the counter. Grimacing slightly, she looked up from the bowl to Naruto. "Ramen? Seriously?"

"Just shut up and eat." The blonde growled quietly before muttering a quiet 'Itadakimasu' under his breath and retrieving some of the noodles from his bowl. Reluctantly, Benihime followed his example and took a somewhat hesitant, yet curious taste of her meal. Almost immediately, she regretted any bad thoughts she had about Naruto's cooking skills.

"Oh, my god...This is really good." She complimented, unaware of Naruto's faint smirk that he disguised while helping himself to one of the soft boiled egg slices in his bowl. "Have you ever thought of becoming a cook? Professionally, I mean?"

"At one point, yeah, but I like fighting too much and I prefer to keep to simple dishes. They're usually easier and quicker to prepare since I tend to either come home late or exhausted. Sometimes both." He answered before taking another bite of his meal, continuing only after he swallowed it a minute later. "I had to learn how to cook at a young age and look after myself. Trust me; there was a _lot_ of trial and error back then. Plus, I didn't always have access to certain ingredients, so simpler, more common foods became something of a specialty of mine."

"I can tell..." She murmured, getting a half-hearted cautioning glare from Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "Only experience can make something like this taste so good."

"Hmph. Nice save..." He mumbled quietly with a small smirk before returning to his meal. As they ate in a comfortable silence, Naruto glanced over at Benihime for a moment. Now that her scarf was off, he could see the dark red lines that ran across her cheeks under her eyes and then down them, running parallel to her jaw line towards the corners of her mouth; years ago, they could have possibly been full fang markings at one time like those of the Inuzuka clan, but had eventually changed to what they were now. Even still, they were a clear sign of her heritage as a cousin of the Inuzuka clan. Not only that, but she had a dark red dot decorating her chin just under her bottom lip and like he had predicted when they first met just the other day back in Forest Country, all four of her canine teeth were definitely elongated and fang-like.

Dismissing the thoughts for now, Naruto focused back on his dinner...

xXx

 _'So this is where he lives, huh?'_ Benihime thought curiously while exploring Naruto's home, the blonde currently taking a shower upstairs. Having not had any extra clothes to sleep in apart from a scroll containing extras of her usual combat outfit, Naruto had loaned her a pair of black shorts he didn't wear that often anymore and one of his old black T-shirts, which was kind of baggy on her smaller build, stopping just a couple inches past her plump and shapely rear end. Under them, she wore a rather racy dark red thong and no chest bindings under the shirt Naruto had given her. Locating the study, Benihime curiously peeked inside before staring in awe at the bookshelves that were loaded down with scrolls and books of all sorts; one of her secret pleasures was reading and learning new things, so for her to find so many new things to read, she didn't know where to start.

"No way!" She gasped in excitement while rushing over to one of the bookshelves, having spotted a specific kind of scroll. "I can't believe he has scrolls about making summoning contracts! And advanced tracking techniques, too? So cool!"

"Like what you see?" Naruto questioned from the doorway, making Benihime squeak with a slight jump, having been too wrapped up in Naruto's library to notice him. He was dressed in his usual sleeping clothes with his hair wrapped up in a towel, something she internally found kind of funny looking on him. He was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a teasing smirk on his lips. Blushing slightly out of embarrassment and clutching the scroll on making summoning contracts to her full-bodied chest, Benihime nodded hesitantly, suddenly feeling shy again. "Behave yourself and I might let you read some of them."

"Congratulations. You just made me feel like a little kid again, asshole..." She grumbled, blushing even more with a half-hearted scowl as she put the scroll back in its proper place. Naruto simply chuckled quietly before leaving to finish drying his hair. Heading to the guest bedroom Naruto was letting her use, Benihime took one look at the bed and suddenly realized how tired she was, not even bothering to fully close the door before climbing under the covers. She was asleep within minutes. After finishing with his hair and pulling it back into a simple low pony-tail to keep it out of the way, Naruto went looking for his new room mate to keep talking for a little bit, but she wasn't in the study any more. That was when he noticed that the door to Benihime's room was open now.

"Benihime? Are you-" Naruto cut himself short as he looked into her room, seeing the red haired Akajuu sleeping soundly in bed. Smiling softly, Naruto quietly shut the door and went to his own room for some rest, kind of glad that he didn't have to share his bed again...so why was he a little colder than usual? Sighing and dismissing it, Naruto cleared his mind of pointless thoughts and relaxed, letting sleep take over...

xXx

As the night wore on, Benihime's pleasant rest became disturbed with a rather nasty nightmare. Whimpering quietly in her sleep as she tossed and turned, Benihime finally woke up with a gasp, breathing heavily as her eyes watered. Glancing over at the clock on the nightstand beside her, she saw that it was barely past midnight. Curling up in bed and laying there, Benihime found herself unable to sleep, staring blankly at the wall across from her as she thought of her nightmare; it had been about her clan. It had started off good, being happy memories of her and her dad when she was a little girl, but then it took a dark turn and it wasn't long before she was watching the deaths of her kin. Shivering slightly as the pain and sorrow started coming back, Benihime suddenly shot out of bed, her bare feet quietly padding across the floor as she headed to Naruto's room.

Gently nibbling on her bottom lip as she hesitated for a moment, Benihime quietly opened the door and slipped into the room before walking over to where Naruto was on the bed. Reaching out and gently shaking his shoulder, Benihime had to cover her mouth with one hand to keep from screaming when one of Naruto's hands clamped down on her wrist, but didn't do anything else. Taking a few deep breaths to calm back down, she shook his shoulder again to wake him up, having failed with her first attempt. It took a few minutes, but he finally grunted quietly and barely cracked an eye open, his hand slipping from her wrist without him realizing he even had a hold of her.

"Mm...Hime? What's wrong?" He questioned tiredly, not even bothering to glance at the clock. Not hearing anything, he looked at her a little closer and saw the look on her face as tears started forming in her eyes again. Sighing softly, he moved over so that she could lie down beside him, patting the spot next to him. Without warning or hesitation, she hurriedly crawled under the covers with him and snuggled up against his chest, holding onto him tightly as she shivered a little, still rather misty eyed. Letting out one last sigh, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around the obviously frightened girl. "Bad dream?"

"Mm-hm..." She whimpered softly, nodding faintly with her cheek pressed against his bare chest as a couple tears fell from her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, gently rubbing her back for a moment.

"Mm-mm..." She whimpered quietly, shaking her head slightly before closing her eyes and cuddling closer against him.

"Alright...Try to get some sleep." Naruto mumbled quietly while closing his eyes again, lightly kissing the top of her head. "Goodnight, Benihime."

"G'night, Naruto..." Benihime mumbled back as a small smile formed on her lips, her cheeks lightly glowing with a small blush. With the warmth of his body calming her down, she started to relax more while the sound of his heart beating in his chest soothed her fried nerves and dispersed the storm of thoughts and emotions swirling around in her head.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable a few minutes later, however, Benihime pulled the covers over her head for a moment and Naruto could only stare at her quizically before he saw a hand attached to the black shirt he had loaned her, said item being deposited on the floor beside the bed. Just as he started to figure out the implications of what he just saw, Naruto's cheeks burned hot instantly when he felt a very warm and topless female body press against his side. Cuddling back up against him and nuzzling her cheek against the blonde's chest, Benihime acted as if nothing was wrong, gradually tiring back out as she laid there, using Naruto's chest for a pillow.

"B-Beni-" Naruto started to stutter out, but the Akajuu lightly kneed him in the leg to shut him up.

"Don't think about it...I sleep better like this." She mumbled before yawning and adjusting her position, burying her face against Naruto's neck. "Besides, I'm still wearing the shorts...Relax..."

 _'You're trying so hard, aren't you?'_ Naruto thought accusingly while glaring up at the ceiling. He knew it, he had a gut feeling that some god or goddess out there was trying to turn him into as big of a pervert as his sensei, Jiraiya. _'Well, fuck off because it's not going to work.'_

"Mm...Naru-kun..." Benihime mumbled sleepily a few minutes later as she stirred slightly before draping her leg over his, one of her arms left to lay across his stomach as she pressed her large breasts into his side. His cheeks blazed almost bright enough to glow in the dark by that point...

 _'It's not going to work. It's not going to work. It's not going to work...'_

xXx

As the first rays of the morning sun peered into the room through the window, Benihime groaned quietly and grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face into the pillow in an effort to block out the blinding light that dared to disturb her. Still, she was really comfortable and so warm. Shifting a little, she suddenly froze when her hand brushed against another, the arm it was attached to having been wrapped around her waist. Then she remembered getting in bed with Naruto in the middle of the night. Eyes still closed, she smiled warmly and covered the arm's wrist with her hand, cuddling back against the chest of the arm's owner...and then she felt something else. Her eyes snapped open instantly and her cheeks burned as she realized what it was. Not even thinking, she pushed her rear closer to Naruto's hips, her eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head as she bit her lip to stifle a weak moan.

 _'Oh, god...He's b...big...'_ She mentally stuttered out, her brain struggling to function properly as she resisted the urge to do it again; it didn't help that half of her dreams last night after falling asleep next to Naruto had been...inappropriate ones. Without realizing it, she pushed her hips back against Naruto's again, this time drawing out a muffled grunt from Naruto, which made her blush even worse and freeze in place again.

"Quit..." He grunted out quietly, obviously caught between waking and sleeping. Even still, he tightened his hold on her and buried his nose deeper into her hair, the Akajuu blushing more heatedly as a shy smile formed on her lips, relaxing into the rather intimate embrace. She figured she might as well enjoy it while she could. "Go back to sleep..."

"Don't you have things to do today?" She questioned curiously, yet quietly.

"No...Taking the day off..." He mumbled out, unknowing of how his warm breath on the back of Benihime's neck was exciting her a little bit; not enough for her to start anything, but enough to make her a little uncomfortable. Still, she couldn't resist trying to tease him a little bit.

"Enjoying yourself back there?" The teal eyed kunoichi inquired playfully, smirking slightly.

"Your hair smells nice..." He mumbled quietly, ignoring her question as he buried his nose a little deeper in her thick red hair. A small sigh of contentment slipped from him and washed over the nape of her neck, a pleasured shiver running up Benihime's spine while she tried ignoring what the blonde was unknowingly doing to her. Still, his comment made her blush heavily. "Smells like the forest..."

"Th-Thank you..." Benihime stuttered, shivering faintly again as another wave of Naruto's warm breath washed over her neck. Thankfully, he moved his head, nuzzling his face against her shoulder and going still once more. It was a few minutes before she guessed he had fallen back asleep, still holding her tight against him. Suddenly gasping with another rush of mild euphoria, Benihime could only stare down at Naruto's arm, having moved from her waist to just below her breasts, his hand cupping the lower one slightly. As almost her entire face flared red with heat, Benihime chewed on her bottom lip for a few minutes. Yet again, she was confused...

If anyone else had touched her or excited her like Naruto had so far, accidental or not, she would have tried beating them within an inch of death for it. They wouldn't have even had the chance to see her topless, like Naruto had been unexpectedly given the privilege of seeing last night. With Naruto, however, she didn't feel like she was being assaulted or violated. It was almost as if, subconsciously...she _wanted_ him to touch her. That lone thought made her squeeze her eyes shut and for her blush to spread down her neck, trying to desperately deny it, but it was about as effective as stopping a mudslide with a broken shovel. Naruto shifted again, breaking her out of her thoughts as his arm moved back down to her waist line, pressing his forehead against the back of her neck through her hair as he held her a little tighter to him than before...

Then again, it wasn't that bad of a thought, the two of them together. It actually made her smile a little. Maybe. It would take a little work, but she was still confident she could get him to fall for her; it was now becoming obvious to her that Naruto had already, unknowingly, made her fall for him. A quiet and slightly perverted giggle escaped her as she decided to use some of the 'tactics' her clan's women were known for when it came to winning over a man they wanted. Finally managing to get her thoughts straightened out again, Benihime pushed her hips back against Naruto's one last time, getting a quiet groan from the both of them, before deciding to get some more sleep, a small smile gracing her features as she relaxed and closed her eyes...

She'll have her fun later...

xXx

 _'Damn frisky red head...'_ Naruto, still clad in only the shorts he had slept in with his hair pulled back in a messy pony-tail not unlike his godfather's, mentally grumbled while munching on a plain bowl of cereal while slouching in his spot at the bar counter, blushing furiously and refusing to so much as look in Benihime's general direction. Looking rather proud of herself, Benihime sat beside him in the other chair with one of her legs tucked under her, lacking the shorts she had worn last night and clad in the black shirt she had been wearing last night. Eating her own bowl of cereal, Benihime smirked at Naruto while eyeing the faint bite mark that now decorated the base of Naruto's neck on the right side. She didn't bite him very hard, just enough to leave a bit of a mark, but what the blonde didn't understand were the implications of the teasing little nip.

Benihime was staking her claim and leaving her mark on him and she would continue to do so until she was either fully denied and pushed away by the blonde or they became a couple...

 _'Don't worry, Naru-kun. I won't bite you again...'_ Benihime practically purred in her mind, subconsciously licking her lips and one of her fang-like canines as she thought about the little love bite she gave him earlier when they finally got out of bed. _'Well...Not too much, at least.'_

"So, Naruto-kun...What do you normally do when you have the day off?" Benihime inquired after draining the milk from her bowl.

"I haven't really taken a day off in six years..." Naruto mumbled quietly, still avoiding the temptation to look at Benihime as much as possible. Hearing his answer, the red head was absolutely shocked.

"Six years?! What could you have been doing for six years that you didn't want to take a day off to relax or go out and have some fun?!" She practically demanded. Naruto paused for a second before shoveling another spoonful of cereal into his mouth, taking the time to chew and swallow before answering her.

"...Training..." He stated simply. This time, while shocked still, Benihime was a little more subdued.

She could tell from his mannerisms that he didn't have much of a social life and when they first clashed back in Forest Country, when they first 'met', she could tell Naruto had been holding back _a lot_ when he grabbed her and slammed her on the ground. Despite the speed with which he moved and his powerfully compressed lean musculature, she didn't even have the slightest bruise on her from the ordeal when she should have had at least a bruised rib or some minor bruising on her neck. Instead, she didn't; he had pulled back and slowed her descent when he put her on her back and only applied enough pressure to her neck while she was on the ground to induce a sense of mild subconscious submission.

Whoever was teaching the blonde, they obviously knew a lot about fighting if they could teach Naruto how to defend himself without harming his opponent in the slightest...

"Well, that's changing today." Benihime declared firmly with a nod of her head as she took Naruto's bowl once he was finished, taking it and her own to the sink to wash them. With her back to him since the sink was on the opposite side of the kitchen, Benihime smirked as she started washing the two bowls, having been very deliberate in deciding her state of dress that morning. "Today, we are going out and doing something fun that does not involve training or any sort of ninja duties. Besides, I could use a pleasant distraction..."

Due to her being shorter than her love-interest, she had to lean over the counter a little more to wash the dishes, causing her shirt to ride up a little and show off a couple more inches of her legs while hinting at her butt; she had even pulled her hair over her left shoulder to keep the 'view' unobstructed. And with Naruto sitting directly behind her, she wished she could see his face. Unknown to her, Naruto was blushing up a storm with his head bowed and one hand being used to block out the peripheral view of her...admittedly eye-catching back side...and despite his best efforts, he couldn't resist taking a peak every so often.

 _'This girl is going to be the death of me...'_ Naruto thought to himself with a mental groan of despair, trying to get his mind to focus on something other than the figure of his new room mate. "What did you, uh...have in mind?"

"How should I know?" She countered while glancing over her shoulder, noticing the obvious discomfort the blonde was in and catching him taking a peek at her butt without him noticing that she had caught him in the act. She smirked victoriously, her little plan working its magic on the Tokubetsu Genin. "This is my first time in Konoha. I don't know what there is to do around here."

"W-Well...I've been meaning to get some more furniture..." Naruto mumbled quietly, stuttering a little at first as Benihime finished her self-appointed task and dried her hands off before she turned around, leaning against the counter across from Naruto.

"That's not very fun..." She muttured with a pout, purposefully using her short stature and sizable chest to her advantage by 'unknowingly' pulling her shirt down a little while leaning forward, causing the fabric to draw tight against her breasts and pull the collar down a bit, showing off her cleavage. "Geez...You really don't get out much, do you?"

"...Not really, no..." He quietly admitted, looking away from the red head that had apparently made it her new goal in life to tease and flirt with him every chance she got. An exasperated sigh left her as she hung her head for a moment. Then an idea popped into her head, one that made her grin in a way that made Naruto quite nervous...

"Fine. You can take me clothes shopping." Benihime stated in a tone of voice that didn't leave any room for arguement before walking around the counter in the direction towards the stairs. As she came up behind Naruto on her way to said stairs, however, Benihime grinned before suddenly leaning over him and biting down on his shoulder where it met his neck, right where she bit him earlier. His whole body tensed as his face flushed with an ever increasing blush, Naruto didn't make a sound as Benihime bit him a bit rougher than she had earlier that morning. Easing up on the pressure, Benihime seductively sucked on the spot she bit him before slowly pulling away. A moment later, she was heading up the stairs, giggling slightly. "I'm gonna go take a shower! You're more than welcome to come _join me_ , Naru-kun..."

"...Kill me now..." Naruto sighed quietly in exasperated frustration, tenderly rubbing his shoulder where she bit him as he slumped forward against the counter, letting his red-hot forehead rest against the cool biege-white marble counter top...

xXx

"Why do you have to drag me around to do this?" Naruto complained, dressed in his usual attire, only without his armor. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he was slouching, not at all excited about clothes shopping like Benihime was. "Can't you do this by yourself?"

"And get lost? As if!" Benihime argued, dressed in her own combat attire with her own limited armor and equipment left back at the house. Ever since they had left the yard, she had been attached to the blonde's arm, making a bold public statement to any other girl that wanted to get with _her_ Naruto-kun that he was already taken; thus was Back-up Plan A. Main Plan A would have to wait until they reached a store, but it would be well worth it and quite fun for her. "You forget, my dear Naru-kun, that I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. Besides, who else is going to pay for everything and carry my bags?"

"Ugh..." The blonde groaned quietly before suddenly getting pulled to the side.

"Ooh! This looks like a good place to start!" Benihime commented while pulling him towards a store; thankfully, Naruto knew the store to be a Ninja-only clothing store even though they sold combat-grade and everyday clothing...among other things clothing related. Thus, there wouldn't be many people in the store since most ninja were usually busy with missions, training, or other duties instead of spending their day shopping like a good number of civilians tended to do on occasion. The store clerk, a man in his early to mid-twenties, gave the blonde a semi-sympathetic look as Benihime practically dragged Naruto towards the women's section while simultaneously trying to keep from laughing at the poor teen's luck. The red haired Akajuu kunoichi didn't waste any time shoving the not-so-willing blonde into the bench seat near the dressing rooms before going to look for what she wanted to try on.

"First time taking your girlfriend shopping, huh?" The clerk commented as he sat down next to Naruto and threw an arm over the back fo the bench, making Naruto's head snap in his direction when he heard 'girlfriend'; the blonde was just glad no one else was in the store at the moment to hear it. Before Naruto could even argue the kind of relationship he and Benihime had, the clerk was already talking again. "A bit of advice, from one guy to another; she's always right and no matter she's wearing, she always looks wonderful. Especially that one...I've got to congratulate you, man. That girl's a real beauty. Don't fuck it up, dude."

"I-Wha-Huh?!" Naruto stammered out in confusion and bewilderment as he looked back to the clerk, having looked away for a moment to figure out where Benihime had run off to, but the clerk had already disappeared from his spot just as suddenly as he appeared. Looking around, Naruto didn't see any sign of the clerk, leaving the blonde even more confused; the guy was _fast_. "What the fuck...?"

"How do I look?" Benihime suddenly asked from in front of him, the befuddled blonde not even registering the potential danger as he turned back around to face the red head. It was only thanks to his vast reserves of will power and experience hanging around Jiraiya that he wasn't rocketed back by a nose bleed. Benihime laughed quietly, if not a bit pervertedly, at the blonde's reaction.

She was clad in only a pair of black tight-fitting short-shorts that barely even covered her rear and left the straps of her thong visible as they crossed over her hips, a black bikini top with some red markings on the triangular pieces of fabric that covered only a portion of her breasts, a pair of black thigh-high boots that conformed to her toned legs with red along the hem, and black fishnet leggings hidden under them with only an inch or two of the stringy material visible above the top edge of her boots. He might have avoided a nose bleed, but he still fell victim to a few seconds of dizziness, never seeing the almost predatory grin the Akajuu sported.

"I'll take that as an approval..." She remarked as she casually turned on her heel and sauntered back into the dressing room, fully aware of Naruto's sky blue eyes following her swaying hips.

 _'This...is tantamount...to torture...'_ Naruto thought to himself in partial despair as he slumped forward and held his head in his hands. It wasn't for a few minutes before Benihime came back out, but when she did, Naruto found his hesitance to look...unwarranted. Instead of going out of her way to tease him, Benihime actually showed her more delicate and modest side with the outfit she was wearing now.

It was a dark crimson kimono-like top that stopped almost half-way down her thighs with black trim along the edges and baggy broad-cuffed sleeves that almost completely hid her hands from sight, a black sash tightly wrapped around her mid-section from just under her bust to her waist to show off her hourglass figure, a pair of black form-fitting capri pants, her black scarf wrapped around her neck, and black heeled kunoichi sandals on her feet that were of a more girly style than the more common style a majority of kunoichi wore.

It took a lot of effort to keep his jaw from dropping even the slightest bit, unwilling to give the red head any more satisfaction. Still, with the dark colors, her vibrant teal colored eyes were made all the more noticeable and beautiful, the large teal bead binding her hair together near the end standing out as well while her natural clan markings removed any need for make-up. A shy blush tinted her cheeks as she gave a small twirl with her arms held out to the sides.

"...Do you like it?" She asked a bit hesitantly in extreme contrast to her previously bold outfit and behavior, having put more thought into picking the outfit she had on now. She had already told herself that if Naruto liked it, she would get a few more sets of the outfit to wear as a casual everyday outfit.

"Uh...Y-Yeah. It, uh...You look great." Naruto stammered out, not even catching the simple little slip-up that he complimented her specifically and not the outfit she had picked out. Benihime did, though, and immediately blushed a little more, a somewhat shy smile forming on her face as she fussed with her scarf and pulled it up to cover her face. It boosted her confidence and resolve in her efforts to make the blonde fall in love with her, no matter how long it took...

xXx

"Hey, do you know any good places to eat? I'm getting a little hungry." Benihime questioned from beside Naruto, still holding onto the blonde's arm as they walked while wearing a set of her new casual clothes with the dark red robe-like top, her scarf pulled back down around her neck. After picking out a couple more outfits and leaving the clothing store, they had gone to a weapon shop so Benihime could restock on the weapons she had lost back in her home village while Naruto had taken advantage of their location to restock on certain supplies he was running low on. From there, he had sent a clone back to the house with the bags so he didn't have to carry them everywhere.

Hearing Benihime's question, though, Naruto glanced up at the sky, finally noticing the pink and orange tones the clouds were taking on; they had been out longer than he had thought, having left his home a little after noon. Thinking of a place he hadn't visited since he was a kid, the blonde smirked down at her.

"I've got just the place in mind. This way." Naruto answered before turning down a different road. It wasn't long before they reached the first of the restaurants that lined both sides of another road. All of the different smelling foods had Benihime's mouth watering and her stomach growling with hunger, but she was practically driven to tears when they didn't stop at any one of them. Reaching the end of the road just as it started getting dark and lights started flicking on, Benihime found herself being pulled around the corner and down a little further before they drew close to a small food stand that sported only a handful of seats out front and had a small looking kitchen behind the counter, the little out-of-the-way stand appearing as if it didn't get a whole lot of business. The smell though...

"Hehe...Hungry, much?" Naruto asked teasingly with a small laugh as the Akajuu started to drag _him_ towards Ichiraku's. She seemed quite eager, too. Hopping into one of the seats, Benihime blushed a little at the comment, but didn't answer. Instead, she started searching for a menu that most little restaurants kept on the counter for customers. Seeing her continue to search in confusion, Naruto laughed again while shaking his head, pulling his face mask down. "Oi! Teuchi-Ojii-san! Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Hm?" Teuchi, the grey-haired man that seemed to be the head chef, turned around to figure out who called him while a young woman with short brown hair peeked out from the back room. Spotting the whiskered blonde, their eyes went wide. "Oh! Naruto! Long time, no see! Where've you been?!"

"Naru-chan!" Ayame exclaimed excitedly while rushing out and practically tackling Naruto out of his seat, she was so eager to hug him. Left out of the apparent reunion, Benihime couldn't resist giving Ayame a slight glare, feeling a tad jealous and admittedly territorial with the slightly older girl being so close to her Naruto-kun. Pulling back after a few moments, Ayame gave the laughing blonde a glance over, both of them still smiling happily. "Oh, my god! You've gotten so big! Last time I saw you, you were so short! Oh! And your hair! It's gotten so long, too!"

"Hehehe! Yeah, it has, hasn't it?" Naruto laughed a little sheepishly, fiddling with his bound pony-tail for a moment. "Sorry I haven't been around, guys. I just got back from traveling with Sensei last month, but I've just been so busy with everything that I couldn't find the time to come visit."

"Ah! Well, that better change, young man." Teuchi warned while pointing a laddle at the blonde before turning back to the stove and returning to cooking. "Don't bother taking their orders, Ayame. Two Specials, coming right up."

"...Two?" Ayame mumbled to herself before looking to the other side of Naruto to find Benihime, who was caught between trying to glare at Ayame for being so close to Naruto and smelling the rather delicious scent coming from Teuchi's direction. Ayame then giggled before calling out to her father. "Hey, Tou-san! I'd change that order, if I were you! Naru-chan brought his girlfriend with him."

"Damn it, not this again..." Naruto growled under his breath with a half-hearted scowl of annoyance while Benihime beamed happily, even going so far as to swing her legs cheerfully since the chairs were pretty high up. "Look, she's not-"

"Ah, what a pretty little creature, too!" Teuchi praised with a glance over his shoulder, getting a more bashful grin from the Akajuu. "Make that _three_ Specials."

"Three?" Benihime questioned before looking around curiously, thinking there was someone else around them. Ayame giggled at her reaction.

"You obviously haven't seen Naru-chan eat, have you?" She questioned as she grabbed three bowls for her father, her question further confusing Benihime.

"Hey, I've gotten better, damn it!" Naruto argued, getting another laugh from the father and daughter ramen chef duo. He then looked at Benihime, blushing a little out of embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I used to eat more an Akimichi at an all-you-can-eat buffet when I was a kid because of my really fast metabolism. My appetite only grew bigger when I started the Academy and started training, needing to refill my naturally massive chakra reserves. I started eating some special high-calorie protein bars a couple years ago, though, so I haven't had to eat a whole lot all the time to keep my strength up."

"Wow..." Benihime mumbled in shock before hearing a dish being set down in front of her, another being placed in front of Naruto. Curiously, she peered into the large bowl, not even knowing what the restaurant served. Seeing that it was ramen, Benihime, not being much of a fan of the soupy noodles, had to keep herself from drooling a little when she saw just how much meat, sliced soft-boiled eggs, and various other toppings had been added to the meal. For once, Ayame and Teuchi were shocked when Benihime grabbed a pair of chop sticks faster than Naruto could; something they had never seen happen before. "Itadakimasu!"

A moment later, she dug into her meal and suddenly felt like she was in heaven, forgetting all of her worries while every last one of her troubles were washed away by the happy memories she had made throughout the day. So content with her meal, Benihime never noticed how Naruto laughed heartily at her reaction, Ayame and Teuchi sharing knowing looks as they watched the two interact. The two teenagers were practically made to be together, Teuchi recalling fond memories of his younger years when another red headed girl and a blonde boy would visit his humble little shop on occassion close to twenty years ago...

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Six

"You have your own bed..." Naruto grumbled quietly without opening his eyes, waking up to find himself holding a topless Akajuu girl. Again. It was now Day Five since Akajuu Benihime moved into his home and she had yet to spend the whole night in her own bed. "...Why don't you...I don't know... _sleep_ in it?"

"Because you're sooo _warm_!" Benihime purred with elated contentment while nuzzling the blonde's neck, pressing her body flush against his side; she wasn't going to admit that the real reason was because of her nightmares or that sleeping with Naruto kept them from coming. Nuzzling his neck again, Benihime relaxed, enjoying the incredible amount of body heat Naruto gave off. Naruto merely grunted in displeasure, but didn't do anything about it. "Mmm...What's on the agenda for today, Grumpy?"

"Training." He grunted out, getting an exasperated sigh from Benihime before she sat up and stared down at him.

"Training? _Again_?" She questioned a little irritably. Naruto didn't even bother opening his eyes or moving. "Is that _all_ you ever do?"

"Not me...You." He mumbled before yawning tiredly. He would never admit it out loud, but he slept a whole lot better with Benihime in bed with him. Waking up was the hard part.

"Me? What do you mean?" Benihime inquired, uncaring of the fact she was still topless in front of him, her plump breasts left in plain view for the blonde to stare at if he so wished. Then again, it would require him actually opening his eyes to start with. "Are... _you_ going to be training me?"

"...Why?" Naruto questioned slowly and cautiously, uncertain whether he should say yes or not. He even cracked an eye open to look up at her, completely unphased by her bare chest now after waking up to them in the mornings and falling asleep to them pressed against his side at night for the past few days.

"You are?!" Benihime questioned, having figured out his ploy almost immediately, and perked up conciderably, gaining a beaming grin with her eyes squeezed shut as she pumped one of her fists into the air with a cheer. "Hell yeah!"

'Unknowingly', the action made her breasts bounce, catching Naruto's eye for a moment before he looked off to the side with a slight blush. It proved to be the worst move he could have made at that point in time, the fiesty Akajuu taking full advantage of the moment to bite down on his shoulder at the base of his shoulder. Gasping in slight pain since he was caught completely off guard that time, Naruto was further shocked when Benihime went a little farther than she usually did. Throwing a leg over him and straddling the blonde, Benihime laid where she was without releasing Naruto's shoulder.

"Hi-Hime..." Naruto gasped out quietly, wincing slightly. He didn't know what it was, but she seemed much more...excited...than usual and he didn't think it had anything to with the fact he was going to be training her. When his hand touched her shoulder, however, Benihime suddenly bit down harder, making Naruto's eyes widen in pain, but it wasn't unbearable. A second later, the red head let out a throaty moan as she pressed herself closer to him than before, her fangs having broken the skin on his shoulder.

Due to their close contact, she could feel Naruto's heart racing in his chest, could hear his quick and shallow breathing in her ears, and could smell the faint aroma of pheromones coming from the blonde; while a little extreme for him, he still liked it. A mental sigh of relief escaped her, having feared her...affections would be a little too much for him.

Letting out another quiet moan, Benihime slowly pried her jaws off Naruto's shoulder, sucking on the tender bite mark for a moment. Slowly and seductively licking away the only stray drop of blood that escaped the four pin-prick marks she left behind, Benihime slowly sat up with her hands on his chest, having the decency to blush and look down in embarrassment.

"...I'm so sorry. I...I don't know what came over me..." She apologized, refusing to make eye contact with Naruto as he covered the painfully tender mark on his shoulder. Despite her refusal to look at him, he could still her eyes and saw the raw emotion in them; she really _didn't_ know what made her do that. While suspicious of her strange behavior, he couldn't find any real reason to be mad at her.

Yeah, it hurt, but he was getting used to it since she did it so often. Before he could even attempt to console her, Benihime was already getting up and heading to the master bathroom attached to the room, her shaggy crimson hair keeping him from figuring out what she was feeling or thinking by examining her facial expression or the look in her eyes.

 _'She must be really freaked out...'_ Naruto thought to himself while sitting up in the bed. He no longer even cared about getting bit, he just wanted to make sure Benihime was okay. Getting up and walking to the bathroom door, he knocked lightly.

"Benihime? Are you okay?" He called through the door. No response. Frowning slightly, he knocked again, this time a little louder, but he still didn't hear anything from inside the bathroom. Grabbing the door handle, he turned it experimentally; unlocked. "I'm coming in..."

Slowly opening the door, Naruto peered inside and found Benihime sitting in the middle of the empty bath tub set in the far corner, her knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs with her head buried in her folded arms. The floors and walls were covered with pale cream colored tile, dark brown wood trim decorated the room in various spots, the cupboard panels below the pale cream colored sink set off to the side were made of dark brown wood, the toilet sat in the corner to the left just beyond the sink, a shower stall was set in the opposing corner near the tub with two glass walls and a glass door in the middle boxing it into the corner, a mirror-covered medicine cabinet sat just above the sink, and a soft white light sat in the middle of the ceiling.

None of it mattered to the blonde, though, as he sighed quietly and made his way over to where Benihime was. Sitting on the edge of the tub, he sat there quietly for a few moments before deciding to leave his comfort zone of his own free will for once. Climbing into the tub, he sat down behind her with his legs on either side of her. It took a few moments, but he managed to slip his hands and then his arms between her waist and her legs before pulling her towards him, holding her close. Benihime leaned back against him fully, but not much else.

"What's wrong, Hime?" Naruto asked softly next to Benihime's ear. She didn't respond. "I can't help you if you don't-"

"I think I'm going into Heat..." She mumbled, her cheeks burning fiercely. Naruto's followed her example a moment later, realizing what she meant. "It'll be my first one..."

"Um...I-Is that like, uh..." Naruto trailed off a little awkwardly, unsure how to proceed with his question. Even though he didn't finish it, Benihime knew what he meant and shook her head slightly in a negative response.

"No, it's not like a menstrual cycle." She responded, keeping her voice soft. "Every few months, my body produces an excess of certain hormones and...it makes me..."

"Horny...I lived with the biggest pervert of all time for six years, Benihime. Don't worry about making me uncomfortable; nothing can trump the mental scars that old lech gave me when I was younger." Naruto finished for her and explained, getting a weak giggle out of her. Feeling one of Benihime's hands touch his own, he let her interlace her fingers with his, gripping his hand tightly. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's because of your partial relation to the Inuzuka clan, right?"

"Mm-hm." Benihime hummed quietly with a nod.

"I know an Inuzuka woman. I'll see if she could help you or something." Naruto offered, unknowing of the small, but kind smile that formed on Benihime's face. She knew she had chosen right. Squeezing Naruto's hand a little, Benihime shook her head slightly.

"It's nothing bad, Naruto-kun." Benihime reassured, even though she wasn't quite so sure herself. "I'll just be...a lot more affectionate for a few days..."

"That's what's got me worried. Oof!" Naruto teased, only to get an elbow to the ribs for his effort. "Oooww...Did you have to do that?"

"Yes." Benihime stated while pulling away from the blonde before getting up and walking away. Sighing slightly as he leaned his head back with his eyes closed, Naruto figured he'd sit for a few moments and relax while he could before things in his once-quiet life got chaotic again, but that's when Life decided to thrown him another curve ball. Coming back, Benihime leaned down and kissed him on the lips, the blonde giving a slight start at first before relaxing into the sudden liplock. Slowly pulling back after a few seconds, Benihime opened her eyes to look Naruto in the eye, a tender smile on her lips. "Thank you...for everything."

"Uh...No problem..." He mumbled quietly with a mild look of surprised confusion on his face, his mind having effectively shut down. Giggling at his expression, Benihime turned and went back into the bedroom, leaving the blonde to sit in the tub while he waited for his brain to reboot. While she went to her room to get her clothes and take a shower in the guest bathroom, Naruto stared up at the ceiling with a blank look on his face, reaching up with one hand to lightly touch the already fully healed bite mark on his shoulder that was now just four dots of scar tissue with some light bruising around the area...

xXx

"Sooo...What are we starting on first, Naruto- _sensei_?" Benihime asked teasingly with a playful smirk, getting an eye roll from the blonde as he flexed his armored left hand. This time, he grinned beneath his mask and while she couldn't see it, Benihime got a little nervous as a feeling of dread brushed along her spine. The resounding clang of metal striking metal snapped her back into focus, the blonde having punched his left armored palm with his right armored fist.

"First, we're going to have a little spar." Naruto started, drawing Benihime's nervous teal eyes from his hands to his face. "I need to know exactly what you're capable of and the best way to figure that out is a fight, so you can't hold anything back..."

"B-But what if I-" Benihime tried asking something, but Naruto eye smiled at her, another clang of metal resonating as Naruto cupped his right bicep while pumping his fist in the air, eye smiling at her.

"Don't worry about me. It's _you_ you have to worry about because..." Naruto began before trailing off for a couple seconds, his seemingly innocent eye smile losing its innocent appeal despite his facial expression or body language not changing in the slightest; what she didn't realize right away was the fact he was focusing some of his killing intent on her, testing her resolve. It was only a fraction of what he was truly capable of putting out, but he wasn't trying to break her spirit, so he settled for only ten percent. By the time he went to continue what he was saying not even two seconds after trailing off, Benihime was finding it difficult to think straight and was breathing a little heavier, but held her ground. "...I don't wear this armor for protection."

"O-Oh?" She stuttered out a bit nervously. In his mind, Naruto couldn't help respecting Benihime's resolve. Even though he was only putting out only ten percent of the killing intent he was capable of, most of the ninja below jounin-level that he fought before tended to subconsciously relate him to a demon at the same level, especially if Kyuubi's chakra was present in his system since it turned his eyes red.

Satisfied with his little test, Naruto cut off the killing intent, the red haired Akajuu took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart while Naruto pulled something out of one of his equipment pouches; the horned Akajuu clan head hitai-ate, cleaned up and complete with a black head band. Benihime was caught between joyful surprise and pissed off shock.

"How did you get that?!" She demanded, obviously more upset than anything at the moment.

"Truly, I apologize for going through your stuff, but I needed something that would keep you motivated." Naruto responded with sincere regret before holding the hitai-ate up for her to see more clearly. He then eye smiled at her again, his tone taking on a teasing quality to it. "You want this back? You're going to have to work for it."

"You are _such_ an asshole, Naruto." Benihime growled quietly as she pulled her scarf up over her nose like a mask, letting a splinter of her chakra trickle into her bracers. Her crimson metal claws flashed into existence instantly with the late-morning sun gleaming off the scarlet talons. Letting out a throaty growl as he slipped the hitai-ate into one of his equipment pouches, Benihime narrowed her eyes and glared at Naruto. "You are going to be in _soo_ much trouble when we're done here."

"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" He countered with a hidden grin. He then noticed the strange glimmer in the Akajuu's gorgeous teal blue eyes, one that sent a mixed feeling of anticipation and hesitance scurrying up his spine that made him shiver ever so slightly. Benihime simply let out another animalistic growl as she dropped down to all fours with her body kept quite close to the ground, never once breaking eye contact with him.

Slipping into the beginning stance of his personal taijutsu style, Naruto turned his body towards the right so that his left flank faced Benihime with both of his legs bent and supporting him equally, left leg forward and his right behind him. Both hands were kept open and his fingers straight, his left arm held out away from his body and bent at the elbow with his hand kept at about shoulder-height between him and Benihime while his right hand was kept closer to his body, held at chest-height and only a couple inches from his armored torso.

He didn't have to wait long before Benihime crouched down low and suddenly lunged at him like a pouncing tigress, her crimson claws outstretched...

Swinging his left foot around behind him, Naruto used the momentum to turn his body in the opposite direction to avoid Benihime's claws and any other part of her body from touching him with at least a six inch gap between them. His right hand, however, shot out while she was in mid-air and connected with her side.

The smack of metal hitting flesh echoed for a second while Benihime was sent flying side-ways, sliding across the ground for several meters. Tenderly holding her side, Benihime shot Naruto a look of mild shock, having thought he would at least hold back _a little_ bit; a palm-sized bruise was already starting to form on her side where Naruto's hand connected with her side.

What she didn't understand was that Naruto _did_ hold back or else she would have _at least_ had a cracked rib, if not a broken one...

"You're going to have to do better than that, Hime." Naruto teased while his left foot shifted behind him, taking up a reversal of his beginning stance. "And you know, it never hurt to ask nicely..."

"I'll show you nice, jackass!" Benihime hissed as she took up her crouched position again, but this time, she had a little surprise in store for him, flooding the muscles all throughout her body with chakra to enhance her speed, strength, and reaction time. Where the Inuzuka had their Shikakyu technique, the Akajuu clan had their own called Kokuhyou Tsume; fundamentally the same technique, only much less noticable and it didn't require handseals once mastered.

And it was all thanks to their relation to the Uzumaki clan, making their chakra more potent and easier to mold within their body without handseals for the Kokuhyou Tsume technique to work, which was actually a beginner level D-rank technique all of the Akajuu clan's ninja learned early into their years of training in the clan's personal 'Ninja Academy' and used often all throughout their lives as ninja of the Akajuu clan.

Not really wanting to cause any kind of serious harm to her love-interest, Benihime forced herself to steel her resolve in the same instant she initiated her clan's Kokuhyou Tsume. The next second, she shot forward at full speed, appearing like a blur of black and red with a hint of teal trailing behind her from her hair bead as she surged forward on all fours.

Naruto's eyes widened considerably before his instincts and reflexes _screamed_ for him to move, the middle claw on Benihime's right hand barely scraping across his armored chest as he swung his right leg behind him like he did his left earlier and leaned back at the waist for more clearance space. Even still, the red haired kunoichi's lone claw carved a thin and shallow line into the golden metal across Naruto's chest, causing sparks to fly from the split-second contact.

In that same moment, they had locked eyes, Benihime's teal orbs having gained an instinctual predatory viciousness while Naruto's were filled with surprise and a touch of praise for her incredible speed. She was easily at a mid-chuunin level when it came to speed.

 _'Fast.'_ Was all Naruto thought as she flew by him, only to touch back down on all fours shortly after. Sliding only a meter or so across the grass as she turned around so that she was facing him again, Benihime dug her claws into the earth and stopped almost instantly, the muscles in her body already in the process of bunching up for another pounce. _'She's definitely experienced with moving at those speeds. I just might have to step it up a knotch.'_

"Tsuuga!" She snarled while lunging at him again using a technique passed on to them from the Akajuu clan's Inuzuka ancestors, once more surprising Naruto as she twisted her body into a black and red horizontal tornado of razor-sharp claws at point blank range. For the first time in a while, outside of sparring with Jiraiya, Naruto was forced to use a Kawarimi to avoid getting hit, the old broken log he had replaced himself with being shredded into a shower of mulch the moment Benihime drilled into it. Touching back down on the ground, Benihime snarled quietly again and was about to start sniffing the air to track Naruto down when she heard metallic clapping coming from nearby among the trees.

"Congratulations, Hime." Naruto started with a grin as he popped his knuckles, the scratch on his armor now gone from the embedded seals doing their work to repair any minor damages his armor might sustain in combat; unfortunately, he had to manually supply the chakra for it to work. "Not many people have been able to force me into using Kawarimi in the middle of a fight. Good job."

"Che...That's what you get for underestimating me." Benihime retorted with a glare, her adrenaline making her more aggressive. Naruto chuckled quietly with an admonishing shake of his head.

"No... _You_ are the one underestimating _me_." Naruto countered as he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, tilting his head back a little.

Letting his chakra leak into his muscles in the same essential way Benihime had, Naruto took a deep breath and slouched forward a little. Opening his eyes and revealing his now slitted pupils, he looked directly at Benihime with his blue eyes filled with excitement as his battle-lust started to show, a vicious and broad grin forming under his mask. When he finally exhaled a moment later, a short gust of steam-like air rushed out from the vents on either side of his mask.

 _'This can NOT be good.'_ Benihime mused a little worriedly, already noticing the difference in Naruto's presence and 'aura'. He wasn't just looking forward to a good fight anymore; he was _eager_ to fight now. Leaning forward slightly as he dug his left foot into the ground for traction, Naruto kicked off and rushed forward, clearing the thirty foot gap between them in only a couple strides. Reacting immediately as Naruto switched from defense to offense, Benihime jumped back just in time to dodge the golden fist barreling straight for the spot where she had been a split second prior.

"Doton: Doryuu Heki!" Naruto yelled out just as his right fist impacted in the ground, his left hand set in a half-seal. Caught off guard by the use of a _defensive_ ninjutsu technique, Benihime wasn't prepared for the eight foot high wall of solid earth shooting up out of the ground _behind_ her as well on either side of her. That was when she noticed how Naruto was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, doubtlessly smirking under his mask. It was only then that she realized she fell for Naruto's trap...

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Naruto's voice called out from _above_ her, prompting the red head to look up just in time to watch as a second golden armored blonde unleashed the technique down at her while vaulting high above her location. The resulting three-second long blast of condensed wind instantly pushed her down to her hands and knees, her eyes widening with shock as she stared down at the ground, her limbs shaking with strain to resist the air pressure bearing down on top of her.

The moment it let up, however, she heard something in front of her and just barely managed to bring her arms up to block a kick aimed at her chest. The force of the blow knocked her back up onto her feet before Naruto's left hand swung up and split her crossed arms apart, only for his follow-up right palm heel strike to nail her in the middle of her chest and send her back-first into the wall of compacted earth behind her.

Just as she dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath despite the pain in her chest making it hard on her, Benihime heard something hit the ground just in front of her. Cracking an eye open to look at it, she suddenly went a little wide eyed before looking back up at Naruto in surprise and confusion; sitting on the ground in front of her was the Akajuu clan head hitai-ate. Naruto couldn't resist laughing a little at her look as he gave off a pulse of chakra that caused the three-sided box of packed soil to sink back into the ground.

"I never expected you to actually beat me, Hime." Naruto started to explain with an eye smile while extending a hand to help her up. "All you had to do was impress me and you did just that. _Twice_. Also...I'm sorry for the beat-down...I guess I got a little too excited..."

"..." Benihime didn't say anything as she retracted her claws before putting the hitai-ate in her own equipment pouch. Pulling her scarf down and grabbing Naruto's hand, she let him help her stand back up, which was a bit difficult and painful for her with the dark bruising decorating her left side, chest, back, and forearms. As soon as she was on her feet again, however, Benihime lashed out with her left hand to yank Naruto's mask down while grabbing the back of his neck with her right hand, pulling him forward while leaning in.

Smashing her lips against the blonde's, Benihime used her advantage of surprise to force her tongue into Naruto's mouth, dominating him for a good five seconds before slowly pulling back, tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth as a low growl rumbled in her throat and chest. His mind having shut down again, Naruto was momentarily unresponsive as Benihime gave him a fanged smirk.

"That was for fixing my hitai-ate..." She purred seductively, only for the lust in her eyes to turn to anger as her grin became a snarl in an instant, quickly stomping her foot down on Naruto's toes. She ignored the blonde's cry of pain as he pulled away from her, holding his abused toes. "And _that's_ for going through my things!"

"Okay, okay! I get it, damn it! No more going through your stuff, just stop stepping on my damn toes!" Naruto snapped back as he let himself fall on his butt, taking off his geta sandal and rubbing his throbbing foot. Pouting childishly, Naruto gave her a half-hearted glare. "Why do you have to be so damn abusive?"

"Because if I wasn't..." Benihime started with a seductive purr again as she sauntered over to him and straddled him, shoving him down on his back as she leaned forward. Smirking lustfully despite the blush decorating her cheeks, Benihime gave him another five-second long passionate and forceful tongue-filled kiss. "...I'd wind up killing you with Love..."

"L-Love...?" He stammered quietly in shock, blushing a little himself as he simply laid where he was. "You...love me?"

"Mm-hm..." Benihime hummed in response as she closed her eyes and lovingly kissed him on the lips, holding it for a couple seconds. Pulling back and sitting up, she blushed a little more and glanced off to the side to avoid looking Naruto in the eye, deciding to confess her feelings for him while she had the chance. And the courage. "My feelings for you...started developing back in Forest Country, when you went out of your way to make sure I was okay after everything that happened. And while I was upset about it, I was also grateful for you avenging my clan, even though I didn't really show it...Then you brought me here, to Konoha, and let me live with you without asking for anything in return..."

Naruto stayed silent, letting the red head get everything off her chest. Still, he stared up at her in surprise, no longer caring of their position or the fact she had kissed him three times in the past two minutes...

"Not just that, but...you put up with how... _abrasive_ I can be sometimes. And even though I sleep next to you without a shirt on and with how flirtatious I am, you never once tried to take advantage of me or even hit on me. You've been a complete gentleman to me even though I've given you plenty of reasons not to..." Benihime continued before going quiet for a few seconds. Finally looking Naruto in the eye, she smiled warmly and kindly. "We've barely known each other a week and I know everything's been going really fast and I haven't exactly made things comfortable for you, but...I could tell from the beginning that you whole-heartedly _cared_ about me and my feelings and my well-being without any kind of ulterior motive apart from making sure that I was okay..."

Once more, Benihime paused and Naruto, now rendered speechless by her confession, could only stare back into her teal eyes. They were filled with a storm of emotions, the most noticable being love, kindness, hope, and a little fear of rejection. He had been taking his time in trying to understand Benihime and how she thought since they met, but here she was, pouring her heart out to him and leaving nothing out...and it put a crack in the jaded shell around his heart that his cheerful exterior and jokes and sarcasm hid.

"I...I've never felt this way about a guy before and when I bit you this morning..." Benihime hesitated for a second, blushing more heavily while her eyes started getting misty from her fears of being denied growing a little more than what they already were. She took a moment to dry her eyes with her scarf before she could actually start crying. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves before continuing, her blush gradually getting darker and hotter with every word. "M-Me going into Heat simply pushed me past that final barrier, but when I bit you, I pretty much marked you as _mine_. Not just as my boyfriend or anything, but as _mine_ , as my...lover. I-I don't expect you to f-feel the same about me s-so soon or anything. All...All I'm asking is that you...just give me a chance..."

"..." Even though she had finished saying what she wanted to say, Naruto remained quiet, still looking her in the eye with a bit of a stunned look on his face. Not taking his lack of a response well, however, Benihime turned her eyes down to Naruto's stomach, tears welling up in her eyes and gliding down her cheeks as she started chewing her bottom lip, her cheeks flushed a dark maroon with embarrassment and humiliation, thinking he had rejected her...

Seeing the tears, though, Naruto finally snapped out of his thoughts. Slowly reaching up, he gently cupped her cheek with one hand and ran an armored thumb across it to wipe away some of her tears. Before she could either look back up at him or react any other way, Naruto used his free arm to push himself back up into a sitting position. Still cupping her cheek, he gave her a small, warm smile.

"So, _that's_ what this has been all about this whole time...All you had to do was say something, Hime." He whispered softly before surprising Benihime this time by gently kissing _her_ on the lips, the liplock lasting only a second. His smile then thinned out a little bit. "But...don't take this as a confession of my own. I...I don't quite know how I feel about you yet, but...I'll give you a chance to show me what...Love is..."

"..." Tears still falling from the emotional Akajuu's eyes for different reasons now, Benihime choked back a small sob before kissing the blonde again, wrapping her arms around his head and neck. Breaking apart a few seconds later, she simply held him as tight as she could with her face buried against the side of his armored neck, trying to keep from breaking down into tears of _joy_ ; she didn't last long, sobbing quietly as she was flooded with relief. "Th-Thank you, Naru-kun...Thank you so much...Thank you..."

"Shhh..." Naruto hushed quietly as he wrapped his arms around the red head and held her close, gently rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles. Closing his eyes, Naruto couldn't help smirking a little, finally finding his now-chaotic life just a little ironic; only he could get into a sparring match to help train someone and come out of it with a girlfriend. _'I think we're done here for today...'_

Creating a Shadow Clone without handseals to gather the things he had brought earlier, Naruto stood up with Benihime in his arms as she continued to cry, her legs wrapping themselves around his middle as he adjusted his grip on her to hold her better while slipping his sandal back on. Not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment, especially since his whisker marks were visible now, Naruto used one hand to form a half-seal while closing his eyes, concentrating for a good fifteen seconds before locating the seal he was searching for.

While he wasn't really any good with it and wouldn't be for a long time, having _just_ started learning how to use it before coming back to Konoha, Naruto couldn't help mentally thanking his father for leaving a Hiraishin seal marker in the house Naruto now lived in...

Seconds after locking on to the seal marker, Naruto and Benihime disappeared as if they had never been there, a few small swirls of dust and smoke left behind in their wake...

xXx

"Mmm...Ow." Benihime moaned softly with a slight wince of pain before quietly complaining, not even bothering to open her eyes.

Currently topless and wearing the black short-shorts she had purchased just a few short days ago, she was lying face-down on the bed with her arms folded under her head. Straddling her and obviously a little uncomfortable with their position, Naruto was rubbing a healing salve on her bruised back while giving her a massage simultaneously, wearing only the black shorts he usually slept in.

Even though her back was really tender and sore, he was being incredibly gentle and doing his best to help relieve the pain in her back without causing any discomfort, something Benihime was savoring since one of her little guilty pleasures was being pampered and spoiled. With how good the back massage felt, she was considering whether or not she should try to convince him into giving her a massage every once in a while.

"Thank you for doing this for me. You really know how to treat a woman..." She mumbled with a warm drunken smile, keeping her eyes closed...

"Which is kind of surprising, considering most of the male adult role-models in my life have been perverts..." Naruto commented while moving down to her unscathed lower back, working out a knot along her spine and getting a throaty moan of bliss from the red head. "Then again, Tsunade-baa-chan did teach me a lot, too. I'll never be able to use medical ninjutsu since its practically impossible for me to obtain the necessary level of chakra control to use them, but she taught me a lot about other healing techniques, physical and massage therapy being chief among them."

"Oooh..." Benihime groaned heartily as his hands worked their magic on her back, the tension in her muscles melting away almost entirely as the healing balm started numbing the pain. That was he started applying a gentle pressure on her spine and popping her vertabrae into proper allignment, starting from the base of her spine and working his way up to her neck. Gently biting her bottom lip with another series of soft moans of euphoria, Benihime actually worried that she might end up having an orgasm from the _heavenly_ massage she was getting. She couldn't see it, but Naruto was blushing pretty bad from all of the pleasured noises she was making. "Ooh...Oh, my _god_ , that felt so gooood..."

"Alright, that should do it..." Naruto finally said as he got off of her and sat down beside her, his blush fading away as he started calming back down while the red head groaned loudly in protest, not wanting him to stop. "So long as you take it easy and don't do anything strenuous, you should be fine by morning."

"Mmm...I can't promise anything... _Especially_ with hands like those..." Benihime purred with a saucy grin while slowly pushing herself into an upright position, only to push Naruto back and straddle him, kissing him deeply and lovingly. After a few seconds, she broke the kiss and started nipping at Naruto's neck, getting a quiet groan from the blonde. Smirking against his neck as she felt Naruto's hands on her hips, Benihime decided to torment her boyfriend.

Slipping her tongue into his mouth with another kiss, she gradually provoked him into returning it fully, their tongues battling for dominance. Grabbing one of his hands, Benihime moved it lower until it was on her rear, another horny moan escaping her as his strong fingers gripped her butt cheek. Her internal body temperature rising considerably as her heart started racing with excitement, Benihime started to slowly and teasingly grind her hips against Naruto's, moaning a little louder as she felt the blonde's own arousal against her crotch through their clothes.

She wouldn't rush him into having sex with her, but she was most definitely going to enjoy herself whenever and however she could. At the moment, she wanted to return the favor for the absolutely _delicious_ back massage...and give him something to think about. Still, it was just _so_ tempting. She hadn't seen his member yet, but she had certaintly felt it pressed against her rear in the mornings and now her crotch; she doubted she'd be able to wrap her hand around him.

"Mm! Oooooh..." Benihime groaned loudly as Naruto broke the kiss before suddenly taking her left nipple into his mouth, sucking on the erect pink nub as she sat up slightly before grazing it with his teeth. Thrusting her chest out and arching her back, Benihime tilted her head back as her eyes started rolling back in her head, the blonde's left hand pushing her hips down as he started grinding back against her, his right hand firmly kneading her butt. Feeling him switch to her other nipple, Benihime gasped in ecstacy before moaning again. _'For such a 'gentleman', he sure knows how to please a girl...'_

"N-Naru..." She gasped out breathlessly, her chest heaving as she blushed heavily; her efforts spent tormenting Naruto were now working against her. Fisting her hands in Naruto's hair, she firmly held his head against her tit, another gasp escaping her when he started suckling a little harder, his hips rocking a little slower as he pressed his confined erecting even harder against her clothed, and thoroughly soaked, opening. Feeling _both_ of his hands on her rear and roughly squeezing both meaty cheeks, Benihime's breath hitched in her throat while her eyes went wide, barely able to control herself.

As if he could read her mind, Naruto finally detached from her breast and stopped grinding against her with one final rock of his hips, trailing light butterfly kisses from between her breasts, up to her throat, and along her jaw before lightly nibbling on her ear lobe. By then, Benihime was nearly driven to tears with how horny she was, breathing heavily and dizzy with lust, her mind a whirlwind of desire and passion as she struggled with everything she had to not give in to the need for sex...

She was trying to win his heart with Love, not Lust, but she just couldn't resist wanting to _play_ with her boyfriend a little. Unfortunately, their _playing_ was on the verge of possibly going a little too far...

"Na...Naru..." She whimpered quietly, tightly clinging to the blonde with her face buried against his neck as she shivered with barely restrained lust, her breaths coming in quick and shallow as she fought to maintain the slightest shred of rational thought and self-restraint. "It's getting... _really_ hard for me...to not fuck your brains out right now..."

"...You started it." Naruto grunted out quietly, giving Benihime's neck a teasing nip that gave her a mild full-body spasm, her claw-like nails digging into his back while her jaws clamped down on his shoulder where she had marked him that morning. Once it passed a couple seconds later, she slowly pried her jaws off his shoulder and let out a shaky breath.

"...And I'll finish it...if you want me to..." Benihime whispered a little nervously, nuzzling Naruto's neck lovingly with a fierce dark red blush that nearly matched her hair color. Feeling one of his warm and calloused hands on her bare lower back, Benihime instantly pressed closer to him while his other stayed on her hip.

"That...is a decision for _you_ to make, Hime." Naruto whispered in her ear, his eyes closed peacefully as he held the sexually frustrated female in his arms. She was quiet for almost a full minute without moving in the slightest as she weighed the pros and cons of her decision, whichever it may be. Naruto gently kissed the side of her head. "Take your time, Hime. You don't-"

"...Do you have a condom?" She asked quietly, cutting him off, her voice barely above a whisper in his ear. He nodded slightly, his head leaning against hers. When she spoke up again, her voice had taken on a begging quality to it. "Go get it... _Please_..."

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Shikakyu- Four-legged

Kokuhyou Tsume- Mauling Claws

Tsuuga- Piercing Fang


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Seven

Gently brushing a lock of hair out of her face, Naruto stared down at Benihime as she slept, her naked body pressed flush against his side with her head on his chest with the sheets pulled over them just enough to cover their lower halves. She looked so peaceful as she slept in the afterglow of their love making last night, the bruises on her back and the rest of her body from their spar yesterday having faded away until nothing was left thanks to the herbal healing balm he had used on her.

He smiled slightly as she snuggled closer with a quiet moan, nuzzling her cheek against his chest a little. Running his fingers through her long dark red hair, Naruto finally noticed how soft and silky it really was, feeling almost like incredibly soft fur. His thoughts then turned towards what they had done throughout most of the night, smiling a little more as he recalled how satisfied and pleased she was when they finally finished. Exhausted, too. Despite having as much stamina as he did, he had been almost as worn out as her in the end. Then again, it had been the first time either of them had ever had sex, so it was expected to happen, but they had gone for several rounds and they could only attribute their surprising endurance to their ninja upraising and training...

"Mmmm...Good morning..." Benihime mumbled sleepily as she woke up, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts as she stretched in place slightly before leaning up and planting a tender kiss on his lips with a sleepy, but nonetheless loving smile. Burying her face against his neck, she pressed a little closer and draped her leg over his with a hand on his chest. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah. And you?" He quietly asked in return as he started running his fingers through her hair again. Practically melting against him, Benihime's smile grew a little more with an almost drunken quality to it while she nuzzled his neck, absolutely loving the attention and tender affection she was getting. She could only hope she woke up beside her blonde haired and blue eyed lover to a morning just like it, if not better, every day for the rest of her life...

"Mm-hm..." She hummed quietly, reaching up and threading her own fingers through Naruto's thick blonde hair on the side of his head. "Mmm...What are you thinking about, love?"

"Hm...You, mostly." He mumbled in reply, closing his eyes and relaxing as he kissed the side of her head, the simple and loving affection he was getting being enough to wash away any and all of his troubles in an instant.

Cheeks flushing a healthy pink at his answer, Benihime's smile brightened. Maybe them having sex was exactly what they needed to establish and solidify the bonds they had formed with one another as well as progress further in their relationship on an emotional level. Especially so for Naruto, the hardened shell around his heart growing weaker and weaker with every moment he spent with her, but she knew it would be some time before he completely opened up to her just as she had with him yesterday after their spar...

Finished with her thoughts, Benihime smiled lovingly again and decided to give Naruto a reason to look forward to waking up beside her every morning, just as she felt about it with him...

Sitting up a little and climbing on top of him, she pressed her lips to his with another kiss, gradually progressing from gentle and caring to pouring all of her love for him into it over a period of a couple minutes. Benihime moaned softly as Naruto slipped his tongue into her mouth with one of his hands cradling the back of her neck while the other held her hip. Holding the sides of his head and neck, she let out another soft moan as she pushed her supple breasts against her lover's chest before finally breaking the kiss, breathing a little heavier than normal with their lips still brushing together.

"Good..." She whispered huskily before kissing him more forcefully in order to sexually excite her lover, her mind going numb as Naruto returned the kiss with as much energy and desire as her. Feeling something familiar behind her a few seconds later, Benihime grinned against his lips before groaning softly when Naruto roughly gripped her rear with both hands. Gasping for breath as they broke apart after nearly three full minutes of making out with him, she nipped at his neck teasingly, her juices already starting to flow freely with lust and arousal. All from one long and _very_ heated kiss. "Get another one...Quick..."

"I swear, I don't know whether to kick Jiraiya's ass or thank him for giving me these..." Naruto mumbled out as he blindly pawed at the nightstand next to the bed on his side as he started attacking Benihime's neck with kisses and bites of his own, his fingers eventually finding the handle to the drawer. Pulling it open just enough for him to reach in, he retrieved one of the numerous condoms his sensei and godfather had practically forced him into taking. Before he could even say anything, Benihime snatched the foil-wrapped item from his hand and had it open just as fast as she took it from him, already sliding it over her lover's nearly two inch thick and eight inch long shaft.

She still couldn't get over how big he was, her fingertips being millimeters away from touching as she wrapped her hand around his length. She knew from the health classes and amazingly detailed anatomy lessons she had taken when she was younger that most adult males averaged out somewhere between five and seven inches in length and only about an inch and a half in thickness. Many people underestimated how much of a difference only half an inch could make when it came to sexual intercourse...

"Ngh...Ooooh, _god_!" Benihime groaned loudly as she lowered herself onto Naruto's cock, arching her back and leaning her head back with her eyes closed in absolute bliss while the blonde held her hips with his hands, steadying her as she adjusted to his size, having not quite adapted to how big he was despite their intimacy last night.

Once he was fully buried inside of her, she laid back down on top of her beloved blonde and kissed him again, her tongue sliding between his slightly parted lips and into his mouth, the warm pink muscle rubbing against the blonde's as he returned the liplock just as eagerly as her. Slowly rocking her hips and releasing another horny groan, Benihime pulled Naruto's tongue into her mouth and gently sucked on it, getting a quiet grunt from the blonde that made her smirk.

"You're just insatiable, aren't you?" Naruto joked lightly as they slowly pulled apart before groaning softly in pleasure when she pressed her hips closer to his, pushing him as deep into her as possible while her inner walls tightened around him. Slowly sitting up with her hands braced against Naruto's chest, Benihime gave him a teasing, sultry smirk as she kept gyrating on top of him, relishing how his eyes wandered across her naked form as if he were trying to memorize every last detail.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea, love..." She responded, her teal irises seeming much brighter and more vibrant than Naruto ever remembered them being. "You also don't know just how addicted I am to the sensation of feeling you inside of me..."

Gently moving her arms from his chest and sitting up, Naruto nipped Benihime's right breast as he wrapped his arms around her and roughly squeezed her rear with one hand, the other supporting the red head's lower back as she groaned pleasurably. Rocking her hips just a little faster and a bit harder, Benihime buried the fingers of her left hand in Naruto's shaggy golden hair on the back of his head as he started attending to her breasts, slowly raking the claws on her right hand along his back. Growling quietly in his throat, Naruto used his grip on her butt and his other hand on her hip to lift her up a couple inches before slamming her back down on him, the blonde groaning quietly in pleasure.

"Ah!" Her outcry of ecstacy only excited him even more while her head lolled back drunkly, her claws gently digging into Naruto's scalp on the back of his head while her other hand went to his shoulder for better leverage and balance. Starting to bounce up and down on her lover's member, Benihime felt that all-too familiar knot rapidly building up in her core, growing to incredible proportions. Her moans turned into gasping cries of unadultered euphoria as Naruto held her hips with both hands and brought her down with even more force than she was putting out, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. It was only a couple minutes before her ultra-sensitive canal squeezed even stronger and clamped tight around the blonde's cock as she was brought to her first orgasm of the morning. "Na-Naruto!"

Groaning at how tight her muscles were constricting him, Naruto kept going as Benihime rode through her climax for another minute or two. Rolling over on top of her once she started coming back down, Naruto nipped the front of her throat as he started thrusting into her, getting a whimpering moan with each one from the teal eyed exotic beauty beneath him, her sun-kissed flesh flushed and glossy with a thin film of sweat just like his own body was.

"Ha...Harder...Please!" Benihime gasped out between ragged breaths, begging for more. Holding her hip with one hand while the other went to the thigh of her opposite leg, both of which currently squeezing him around his waist, Naruto did as was requested of him and started thrusting even harder and deeper into her. Soon, her gasping cries started sounding more like yelps of pure sexual bliss that gradually grew louder and louder in volume with each hammering thrust. A couple minutes later, she climaxed for a second time with a loud and horny moan, her mind absolutely swimming in a haze of lust and ecstacy...

If last night had been anything to go by, she knew for a fact that they'd be busy for a good part of the morning before her lover would tire...

xXx

"I still don't see why we couldn't stay home today..." Benihime complained weakly from beside Naruto, leaning into his side with either one having an arm wrapped around the other's waist. They were both clad in their combat gear and heading to see the Hokage. He had just returned from one a few days ago, but Naruto wanted to see if he could get another C-rank mission, hopefully a simple and easy one with decent pay; he had spotted something in one of the stores when he had taken Benihime shopping, but it was a little expensive and wanted to make a little more money before buying the item.

"Well, I wanted to check on a friend of mine and the easiest way to know if they're on a mission or not is to speak with the Hokage. Maybe get a mission of our own while we're there." Naruto answered with a hidden smile, laughing quietly at her behavior. Especially when she started pouting. "Besides, the only reason you want to stay home is so you can keep me in bed with you."

"...Is that so bad?" Benihime murmured softly with a blush hidden under her scarf. "I can't help it. I'm addicted to you..."

"Obviously." Naruto returned with another teasing grin while Benihime moved his hand down to her butt, the red head's cheeks still burning with a blush. Rolling his eyes and laughing quietly, he decided to humor her a little and roughly squeezed her firm and meaty rump. Gasping quietly in pleasure and breathing a little heavier as she started getting excited, Benihime leaned into his side a little more. She let out a quiet groan disapprovingly when he moved his hand back to its original place on her hip a few seconds later.

"So, who's this friend of yours?" The Akajuu questioned curiously, glancing up at her lover as they entered the administrative building the Hokage's office was located in.

"An old childhood friend from my days in the Academy before I started traveling with my godfather." Naruto answered. "I haven't seen her in a little over a month since I became a Tokubetsu Genin."

"Her?" Benihime mumbled suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him. Noticing the look, he sighed quietly.

"Relax, Hime. She's like a sister to me..." He reassured, the red head still giving him a dirty look for a few seconds before pouting and holding him a little tighter. Knowing she was just afraid of losing him, Naruto smiled slightly under his mask and held her closer in return, soothing her fears for the time being. He was honestly a little shocked to feel the same way with her. "She's the one I mentioned back in Forest Country, the one that lost her entire clan back when we were kids..."

"Oh..." She mumbled quietly as she cast her gaze down with a small frown, her mind wandering back towards her own fallen kin. Taking a deep breath to calm back down, Benihime used her scarf to dry her watery eyes before she could start crying. Naruto ran his hand up and down her side comfortingly, coaxing a weak smile out of her. Before they could continue their conversation, they reached the Hokage's office.

"Is the Sandaime available?" Naruto inquired of the secretary as he pulled away from Benihime, feeling strangely reluctant to do so. After getting a positive answer and permission to go in, Naruto thanked the middle-aged woman and went to the door with Benihime following after him. Knocking first before being called in by the Hokage, Naruto opened the door and let Benihime enter the room first.

"Benihime, Naruto! I haven't seen you in a few days." Hiruzen greeted with a cheerful grin, glad for the distraction from his paperwork. Then again, he always did his best to make time for the blonde he had watched over for years since the night he was born. "What can I do for you two today?"

"I was just wondering if you knew anything about Karasu." Naruto responded a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I haven't paid her a visit in a while and figured I'd take care of it while I had the chance before she hunts me down and tries roasting me with a Katon technique."

"Ah...Karasu..." Hiruzen responded hesitantly, his grin fading away. "Her team is out on their first C-rank mission right now, but..."

"But what, Hokage-sama?" Naruto questioned suspiciously when the elderly Sarutobi trailed off cautiously towards the end, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.

"They...ran into some trouble. Their sensei, Kakashi, sent me a letter via one of his summons." The Sandaime started explaining, both he and Benihime noticing how Naruto lost his usual warm presence almost instantly. "He requested that we send another jounin to them for back-up."

"We'll go, Hokage-sama." Benihime spoke up almost immediately, surprising the elderly man quite a bit. Naruto glanced at her in mild surprise as well, but didn't say anything, having been about to volunteer himself before Benihime beat him to it. "I know I'm not an actual ninja of Konoha and we're not jounin, but...We'll go. We're already geared up and prepared to head out at a moment's notice."

"...Naruto?" Hiruzen asked while looking back to the blonde, who merely narrowed his eyes a little more to wordlessly convey his opinion on the matter. Sighing quietly, the Sandaime nodded reluctantly and tossed Naruto a scroll containing information they would need, the blonde deftly catching it with one hand. "Alright. Now go, get out of here before I change my mind..."

"Hai." Naruto mumbled quietly before the two turned and quickly left the office. Sighing heavily again, Hiruzen rubbed his face warily. He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. It could just be his grandfatherly bond with Naruto or his old age catching up with him, but he just couldn't shake that bad feeling...

xXx

"How much further?" Benihime asked quietly, crouched beside her blonde haired boyfriend, his eyes closed and body hidden beneath his hooded black poncho. A few seconds later, his eyes opened back up as his Kage Bunshin scouts dispelled, relaying the information they learned back to him almost instantly.

"Not much." He answered before standing up from his crouched position on the tree branch. "Come on. It's this way."

Moments later, they were on the move again. Team 7, Karasu's team, had encountered a pair of rogue Kiri chuunin known as the Demon Brothers shortly before they reached Fire Country's Eastern shore directly across from the island-cluster nation of Wave Country. They came out successful in keeping their client safe without anyone being seriously harmed, but the two missing-nin managed to somehow escape in the end.

Not long after reaching Wave Country, however, they had been attacked by another Kiri rogue, this one being a jounin; A-rank missing-nin Momochi Zabuza, the Devil of the Bloody Mist. With him had been an unknown masked ninja posing as a Kiri hunter-nin that showed incredible skill with senbon. Again, Team 7 survived with Zabuza's masked accomplice tricking them into thinking they had killed the missing-nin just before Kakashi could deliver the killing blow, fleeing the area with the incapacitated former member of Kiri's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. After recovering _just_ enough chakra a couple days after the battle, Kakashi sent his request for reinforcements to the Hokage via one of his personal dog summons.

"Here it is." Naruto commented before they came to a stop at the tree line, overlooking the shore-side home of Team 7's client, a bridge builder named Tazuna. Dropping down to the ground with Benihime following his example, the couple made their way to the house. Stepping up to the front door and pushing his hood back, Naruto knocked three times and waited patiently. When the door opened a few seconds later, they were greeted with the sight of a woman in her late-twenties to early-thirties, a mixed look of curiosity and caution on her face as she stayed quiet at first out of nervousness. "Good morning, Miss. We're looking for Hatake Kakashi. We're the reinforcements he requested."

"Oh, um...Kakashi-san is resting upstairs." The woman, Tsunami, answered before letting them inside, still a little skittish of the pair as they left their footwear beside the door out of respect for her household. "I'm Tsunami, by the way."

"I'm Naruto and this is Benihime." Naruto introduced, the red head beside him bowing slightly at the waist out of polite respect for the older woman. He glanced around the room, almost as if he were searching for something, before looking back to Tsunami. "If you don't mind me asking, where are Kakashi-san's students?"

"They're with Kakashi-san." Tsunami explained simply while leading them through the house and up the stairs, coming to a stop in front of a door a few seconds later. "They're right in here, Naruto-san."

"Thank you, Tsunami-san." Benihime returned kindly with a friendly eye smile while Naruto opened the door and stepped into the room, the red haired Akajuu following after him. The room's occupants instantly looked towards them as soon as the door started to open.

"Naruto?" Kakashi and Karasu questioned at the same time, both rather surprised to see the armored blonde. The jounin was the first to speak up. "What are you doing here? And who is this?"

"We came to provide back-up for you and your team and this is Akajuu Benihime." Naruto introduced, Benihime giving them a small wave and an eye smile. "Benihime, this is Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Karasu, Haruno Sakura, and...Sai, right?"

"I asked for another jounin, not more genin." Kakashi spoke up in a mild condescending tone before any of his students could speak. Naruto narrowed his eyes a little as he looked to the one-eyed man.

"Hatake, you should know better than anyone not to underestimate someone based on their rank or age." Naruto countered, his tone taking a slight biting edge to it. Kakashi became a little subdued by that, recalling his time under the Yondaime Hokage when he was younger during the Third War. "Now, if you're done complaining, me and Benihime are in need of some rest since we traveled non-stop from Konoha after being dispatched."

"I'll go ask Tsunami-san if there's another room we can sleep in for a little bit." Benihime commented while gently touching Naruto's arm to get his attention, the blonde nodding in response. A moment later, she left the room. When Naruto looked back towards the others, he flinched back slightly when he found Karasu standing only a couple feet in front of him with a blank look on her face, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I need to talk to you. Alone." She practically ordered stoicly, getting a sigh from Naruto as he rubbed the back of his head; he had half-expected an interrogation session with the lone Uchiha kunoichi, but he just wasn't looking forward to it. Nevertheless, he stepped aside and gestured towards the door. After leading him out of the house a minute later, Karasu rounded on the blonde with a slight glare almost as soon as the front door shut behind them. "Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you for the past _month_?"

"I'm sorry, Karasu. I've been really busy." Naruto apologized. "I was actually on my way to see you yesterday when I found out that you and your team were here and in need of back-up."

"...And who's she?" Karasu questioned a moment later, changing the subject while nodding towards the house. Naruto hesitated at the new line of inquiry.

"I met her in Forest Country while I was out on a C-rank mission myself just a little over a week ago. She lost her clan...like you." Naruto answered softly, the Uchiha's eyes widening slightly in surprise. "She came to Konoha when I returned to the village after my mission was complete and she's been living with me since then."

"Living with you?" She reiterated as her eyes narrowed further, not even trying to hide her suspicioun. Noticing how Naruto got a little nervous, Karasu's eyes narrowed a little more. She might not have spent much time to catch up with her old friend, but she knew for a fact that Naruto didn't just _let_ people live with him, especially girls; the blonde wasn't even comfortable with letting _her_ live with him and they had known each other since they were kids, let alone someone he barely even knew for a _week_. "What do you mean she's 'living with you'? Just who is she, Naruto?"

"Benihime is, uh...She's..." Naruto stammered slightly, hesitating to respond; he honestly didn't know how to answer the question, still trying to figure out just how deep his feelings for Benihime went...

"His girlfriend." Benihime finished for him as she joined the two childhood friends and rivals, stepping up beside Naruto while narrowing her eyes at Karasu defensively as well as possessively. "What's it to you?"

"Your...girlfriend?" Karasu parroted slowly in shock. It didn't fully strike home for her until Naruto interlocked his fingers with Benihime's, the two sharing a momentary glance before looking back to Karasu. On the outside, she didn't show any real reaction other than surprise, but internally, she...felt strangely depressed and, honestly, a little jealous for some reason. And she didn't even know why. "I see..."

"Tsunami-san's got a room ready for us, Naruto-kun." Benihime finally informed her boyfriend, getting a nod and a tired sigh from the blonde.

"I'll talk to you later, Karasu. We need to get some sleep." Naruto addressed the Uchiha kunoichi before he and Benihime headed back inside, unaware of the red head throwing one last narrow-eyed look back at Karasu before disappearing into the house. Slipping under his arm, Benihime fell in step beside Naruto with her head leaning against his shoulder. Secretly, Naruto was actually a little relieved and grateful for the interruption, Karasu's inquiry making him a little nervous since he was still on the ropes about his true feelings towards Benihime. "I'm sorry about that, Hime. Karasu isn't exactly...friendly to people she doesn't know."

"I don't mean any disrespect, but I don't want to talk about her anymore." She mumbled quietly, her tone leaving no room for arguement, while leading Naruto to the room Tsunami had said they could stay in. Naruto merely sighed quietly, but relented nonetheless.

As they entered the room and locked the door behind them, they finally detached from each other completely before Naruto started working on loosening the straps holding his armor on. Smiling slightly as she took her scarf off and set it aside, Benihime moved beside him and started helping him, having already laid out the only spare futon bed Tsunami had left, a two-person one, prior to retrieving her boyfriend.

"Thanks, Hime." Naruto said quietly with a small smile of his own, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Once the armor was off and set aside, Benihime turned him around and pulled his cloth mask down around his neck before leaning up and gently kissing him on the lips, Naruto's hands instantly coming to a rest on her broad hips. Due to them being on a mission with a rather high risk of being attacked at any moment, Benihime was a little disappointed and disgruntled about not being able to sleep with her boyfriend like she usually did and being denied sex because of it...

Before they could break apart, Naruto's hands were already unwrapping her sash from around her waist. Blushing a little shyly despite what she had just been contemplating a second ago since he hadn't undressed her himself before, Benihime slowly pulled her lips away from Naruto's and stayed where she was, letting him continue. After the sash, he removed her bracers and then her greaves, only to unravel the black cloth wrapped around her shins and take off her tabbi socks. With every new item removed, Benihime's blush worsened, looking off to the side with mild embarrassment; sometimes, she wondered who was trying to win over the heart of who...

Standing back up, Naruto leaned in and tenderly pressed his lips to her's in a loving kiss, his hands slowly pulling her sleeve-like gloves off one at a time before his hands went behind her. He then started to slowly pull down the zipper on the back of her top that was almost always hidden by her knee-length hair, Benihime's breathing slowly getting heavier with anticipation and anxiety. As he pulled it off of her and left her dressed in only her pants, Naruto's tongue darted into her mouth while Benihime pressed her bare chest against him, her arms wrapping around his neck and shoulders as the blonde haphazardly tossed her top aside.

"My turn..." Benihime whispered softly with a small alluring smile, her eyes practically glowing with her love for him before re-engaging the kiss with a little more desire than before as her hands started to remove Naruto's hitai-ate and his own sash from around his waist. Dropping both items on the floor, Benihime pulled her lover's gloves off his hands and then unbuckled the belt that held his six golden yellow scrolls before letting it fall as well.

Grabbing the hem of his shirt, Benihime pulled away for a moment as she pulled the piece of clothing up over Naruto's head, discarding the shirt just as they had with the rest. Pressing back up against him and wrapping her arms around him a moment later, Benihime buried her face against the side of Naruto's neck with a content smile on her face as he returned the embrace, breathing in his scent and sighing happily as they simply stood there and held each other.

"Mm...Did you know that foxes have been my favorite animal since I was a little girl?" She commented quietly, enjoying their little moment together.

"...Really?" Naruto questioned while eyeing the bed longingly, really wanting to lie down for a little while. Just before Benihime could answer him, he spoke up again. "Hold that thought."

"Wha-Ah!" Benihime tried questioning before crying out in surprise when she found her feet suddenly leaving the floor as Naruto picked her up and walked over to the futon. Sitting down on his side of the bed and setting Benihime down next to him, the blonde pulled his bound pony-tail over his shoulder to keep from laying on it before lying back while pulling his girlfriend down with him. A little confused by what happened, Benihime simply blinked and laid there for a moment before shrugging slightly and getting herself comfortable, nuzzling Naruto's neck like she had been a minute ago, muttering something against his neck. "Lazy..."

"Hush, I'm tired..." Naruto returned before kissing the top of her head and making her smile lovingly, returning to their conversation. "So, foxes are really your favorite animal?"

"Mm-hm." Benihime hummed out. "When I was little, I was very curious and tended to wander off whenever my father wasn't looking. One day, I say a really pretty butterfly and ended up chasing it into the woods for a little bit. By the time I realized that I should go back, I was already lost...but then I saw a fox, except it wasn't like the common ones that lived near the village. It was an all white fox with unusually intelligent bright teal eyes just like mine. It was just sitting there, staring at me for a few minutes. Then it turned and bounded through the brush with me giving chase, my curiousity winning over my fear of being lost. I chased it for a while before finally losing track of it near the edge of the woods, only to realize that I was back at the village. To this day, I still believe that fox purposefully led me back to the village."

"Wow..." He mumbled in honest astounishment, but he was slowly losing his battle with sleep, his eyes having already grown too heavy to keep open. "It could have been one of Inari's messengers or something..."

"Hm. Maybe, maybe not." Benihime replied a little jokingly with a slight grin. "Either way, I'll always be grateful to that fox for what it did that day, whether it was on purpose or by accident."

"Mm..." Naruto grunted out seconds before losing the fight and falling asleep, his hand resting on Benihime's hip while the other was left to rest on his stomach.

When he didn't make any other sound for almost a minute, Benihime looked up and found the blonde sleeping soundly. Stifling a small giggle, she gently kissed his whiskered cheek and grabbed the covers she had pulled aside before going to check on Naruto earlier. Pulling the warm blanket over them, Benihime snuggled back up against Naruto's side and buried her face up against his neck, smiling lovingly as she interlocked her fingers with Naruto's free hand on top of his stomach. After she eventually fell asleep, she found her dreams filled with her memories of that little white fox...

xXx

"Did you send your clones out yet?" Benihime asked her boyfriend before yawning tiredly as she continued getting dressed, currently just arming herself and putting her bracers and greaves back on, while Naruto returned to the room, already fully dressed and equipped. In either hand was a cup of hot tea, setting one down next to Benihime before sitting down on the floor next to her. It was still an hour before sunrise, but Naruto wanted to gain a proper advantage over any opposition they might encounter.

"Yeah. I made enough to scout most of Wave Country." Naruto responded before taking a sip of his tea. "They should dispell and relay the information back to me by about noon at the latest. I'll come up with a plan after that."

"Then why are we getting up so early?" Benihime whined quietly, leaning against Naruto's side with a sleepy childish pout. She really didn't like getting up any earlier than she absolutely had to.

"We'll be going with Tazuna to the bridge today." Naruto explained before stifling a yawn of his own. After taking another sip of his tea while Benihime finally started drinking hers, Naruto continued with a slight scowl of disdain for the one-eyed jounin in the building. "Hatake's students are just _now_ learning the Tree Walking exercise..."

"What?! That was one of the prerequisites to graduate in my clan's Academy!" Benihime hissed, keeping her voice down so as not to wake anyone in the house. Naruto nodded slightly in agreement before taking another sip of his tea. "They should have been taught that from the very beginning!"

"My thoughts exactly, but they're his students, not ours..." Naruto muttered, obviously just as upset about it as the Akajuu, but he knew they couldn't really do anything about it. Draining his cup and sighing, Naruto stood up, the futon having been neatly folded and set aside shortly after they first got up. "Come on. Finish getting ready. Tazuna leaves at dawn and so do we."

"Uuugghh..." Benihime groaned quietly in complaint before looking up at her boyfriend and smirking. Before he could react, Benihime pounced on his back in a brief burst of playful energy, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders from behind, keeping him from leaving the room just yet. Simultaneously, she grabbed Naruto's ear with her teeth, lightly biting down on it and tugging on it slightly.

"B-Benihime!" Naruto exclaimed quietly in surprise with one eye closed and his head tilting to the side from her pulling on his ear, his uncovered cheeks flushing a light pink. "Now's not the time for this..."

"Awww...Why do you got to be such a buzzkill, Naru-kun?" Benihime whined softly as she reluctantly released his ear, still clinging to him. Wrapping her moist lips around his ear lobe, she sucked on it a little teasingly while a purring growl rumbled softly in her throat. Blushing a little more from his girlfriend's teasing and 'playfulness', Naruto let his eyes close as he resisted the mildly arousing sensations she was causing.

"Damn it, Hime...We're on a mission." Naruto mumbled out quietly, letting out a mental sigh of relief when Benihime slowly let go of his ear, her previously playful growl becoming one of begrudging submission. Turning around in her arms, Naruto put his free hand on her hip and gently kissed her, reversing the red head's faint obstinate pout into a small smile. "Please control yourself. Behave yourself and I'll make it up to you when we get back to Konoha...Okay?"

"Promise?" She asked with a slightly pleading look of hope on her face and in her eyes. Naruto sighed quietly with a small, kind smile on his lips.

"Yes, Hime, I promise." He swore before giving her another short and sweet kiss on the lips. "Meet me outside once you're finished."

"Okay..." She mumbled quietly before finally pulling away from her blonde lover and getting back to gearing up, the blonde stepping out of the room and heading towards the front door...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: A little shorter than the other chapters, but I think I covered a lot of ground with this one. I hope everyone enjoys it!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Eight

"Hold on, you _found_ them?" Kakashi questioned in disbelief, the blonde and red haired duo standing in front of him outside of Tazuna's home, the jounin finally starting to regain enough of his strength to walk around without crutches; he planned to start exercising in order to rehabilitate himself better in a short while.

"Hai. I scouted the island with my Kage Bunshin this morning and one of them located Zabuza and his group hiding out in the woods." Naruto answered calmly, him and Benihime having already come up with a plan. "I've also pin-pointed Gatou's location and tallied up the small army of thugs, ronin, and civilian mercenaries and criminals that he has on his payroll; roughly three hundred in all."

"We believe a preemptive strike would be the best course of action to take against Zabuza's group with him still weakened from being put into a death-like state." Benihime spoke up as she started to explain the basics of their plan. Kakashi's lone eye widened at the proposal, even more greatly shocked than before. "That way, he'll be easier for us to take down along with his three subordinates. From there, we move against Gatou."

"No." The jounin stated sharply. Neither were surprised with his reaction, but Naruto narrowed his eyes coldly. "It's too dangerous."

"If you think my plan is too dangerous then you are a fool." Naruto spat venomously, surprising both Benihime and Kakashi with his anger. "You would rather wait and let the enemy get stronger instead of striking while they're weak. If Zabuza fully recovers, then the threat to the client and your students increases three-fold because it is not just him at full strength that we'll have to fight, but his masked accomplice and the Demon Brothers on top of Gatou's private militia. If that happens, there _will_ be deaths on _both_ sides."

"You're over-stepping your boundries, _genin_." Kakashi cautioned coldly with a narrowed eye. Naruto's glare hardened and grew more furious, his armored fingers curling into tight fists.

" _Tokubetsu_ genin and while you may be a jounin, you are not my _sensei_ , Hatake. You do not hold the same authority over me as you do your students nor do you hold _any_ authority over Benihime." Naruto growled, never noticing how his pupils had thinned and stretched into veritcal slits; Benihime and Kakashi noticed, however. "We were sent here as reinforcements to deal with the threat, _not_ to sit around on our asses and wait for the enemy to come to us! If they were in our position, _they_ wouldn't wait for _us_ to lick our wounds and piece our pride back together, so why should we?!"

"...I'll be sure to report your insubordination to the Hokage when we get back to Konoha." Kakashi returned sharply, only to get a scoff of anger from Naruto as he turned on his heel and started walking away, heading for the treeline.

"Report me all you want, Hatake, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing when I have the power to change things." Naruto snapped at the jounin over his shoulder. Eye narrowing dangerously, Kakashi Shunshined in front of the blonde teen and glared down at him with as much defiance as the boy, who glared right back up at him.

"Naruto-kun, please stop..." Benihime urged quietly as she stepped up behind her boyfriend and gently touched his arm, only to flinch back fearfully when he glanced back at her, startled by the intense look in his narrowed eyes. It was only amplified by his slit pupils. A second later, Naruto noticed her fear and averted his gaze immediately after, looking down at the ground. Before either of the two ninja present could do or say anything else, the poncho-shrouded blonde disappeared in a vortex of wind and leaves via Konoha Shunshin. "Naruto!"

"Let him go..." Kakashi muttered, holding an arm out in front of Benihime before she could take off into the forest after her boyfriend. Surprised by his response, her teal eyes darted up to his face, the one eyed jounin staring out into the woodlands. "He needs time to calm back down."

"How...How do you know he won't try going after Zabuza by himself?" Benihime questioned, narrowing her eyes slightly from having to suppress the strong urge to chase after Naruto and calm him down herself.

"...I don't." Kakashi answered quietly, his lone eye narrowing slightly. "But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt...I used to be just as impetuous as him when I was around your age. He's more stubborn, though, so he'll just have to learn for himself..."

xXx

Pulling his poncho off and letting it hang from a branch next to him, Naruto unrolled one of the scrolls at his hips and retrieved the seal-covered golden plate from it, mounting it to his armored upper back before putting the scroll back in its proper place. Pushing his chakra through the plate, Naruto unrolled another of his special scrolls as four more armored limbs sprouted from behind his shoulders, unsealing the six golden trench knives from the storage seal the scroll contained. Each trench knife was larger than normal with three spike-like teeth jutting out from the blades in front of his knuckles, a single black magatama decorating either side of each fang-like blade. Holding them in reverse-grips in all six of his hands, Naruto leapt from his perch while cocking them all back, channeling chakra into each of them.

"Fuuton: Roku Setsudanfuu!" Naruto snarled before slashing his trench knives towards the conical hideout built on the side of a tree, causing six large scything blades of compressed wind to rush forward. The collision caused the building to get sliced into twelve different pieces along with felling the tree it was mounted to. Landing on his feet, Naruto waited patiently for the dust to clear, his narrowed eyes watching for any enemy movement.

"I'm impressed, kid. There aren't many ninja around these days that dish out that kind of destruction at your age..." A gruff voice commented from a short distance behind him. Naruto instantly spun around and blocked the massive blade of Kubikiri Houcho with the serrated teeth of his trench knives with all six arms. Although he hadn't recovered fully, Zabuza glared down at the blonde teen that had attacked him, figuring he was at about three-quarters of his usual full strength. Spotting the boy's Konoha hitai-ate, though, the rogue realized that Kakashi must have requested reinforcements. "...And I've never heard of a ninja having six arms before..."

"I guess I'm just special like that..." Naruto growled back through gnashed teeth. As strong as he was, Zabuza was still putting a good bit of force behind the zanbatou and it was difficult for him to utilize his strength enhancement technique while using his Power of a Fallen Six Armed God technique. Especially when Kyuubi was being uncooperative and refusing to supply him with its chakra. Taking two of the trench knives away and forming a half-seal with either hand, Naruto narrowed his eyes while Zabuza's widened in surprise. A moment later, he stomped his foot down while calling out the name of his technique. "Suiton: Suiben! Doton: Chikyuu no Yari!"

"Shit!" Zabuza cursed as a whip of water snapped out and wrapped around the man, keeping him in place as a dozen narrow spears of hardened earth shot out of the ground all around him, aimed right for the Kiri rogue. Just before he could be impaled, however, a handful of senbon struck the water whip to cancel it out while a masked ninja appeared atop one of the spears via Shunshin, only to disappear a split second later with Zabuza in another Body Flicker. Gritting his teeth as he stopped feeding chakra into the Doton technique, Naruto turned and faced his two opponents. He then noticed the presence of two more behind him, both being the Demon Brothers. "Heh...I've got to admit, you almost had me there, kid, but it's a good thing I wasn't alone. Give up, kid; you're outnumbered."

"You shouldn't assume things so hastily..." Naruto growled quietly, only for three Kage Bunshin to appear in bursts of smoke, one standing shoulder to shoulder with him while the other two formed behind him. Zabuza's eyes widened in surprise again.

"Half-seals, seal-less ninjutsu, a variety of elemental ninjutsu, solid clones..." Zabuza listed briefly, smirking beneath his cloth face mask. "I must say, you keep surprising me. Let me guess; veteran chuunin? Rookie jounin?"

"Tokubetsu _genin_..." Naruto hissed quietly, shocking all four enemy ninja present.

"A fucking genin?!" Meizu exclaimed before Gouzu spoke up right after him. " _That's_ what we're up against?!"

"Do not underestimate him." The masked ninja, Haku, stated firmly as she narrowed her hidden eyes at the golden armor teen and his clones. "He is not to be toyed with."

"Tch..." Gouzu scoffed irritably before he and his twin brother locked gauntlets, connecting their bladed chain between them. Meizu spoke up afterwards. "Guess we've got to teach this brat a lesson he'll never forget."

"Yeah...Keep talking shit." One of Naruto's clones growled at the twins as it and the other one facing them adjusted their stance, looking not unlike a six armed boxer at the moment as they hunkered down a little bit more. "It'll just give us more of a reason to shut you two up."

"Sounds like someone has a lot of pent up anger." Zabuza began, wondering if he could sway the boy to join him instead of having to fight him; he was obviously skilled in fighting against multiple opponents at once and had a decent arsenal of ninjutsu techniques from what he had seen so far. It would come in handy in the civil war still being waged against the Yondaime Mizukage and his Anti-Bloodline campaign followers back in Kiri. "What happened? Someone murder your family in front of you when you were a kid?"

"Close...Try _jinchuuriki_..." Naruto snarled quietly, catching all four Kiri ninja off guard with his response. Immediately taking advantage of it, all four armored blondes surged forward, hastening their speed and reflexes with chakra. Zabuza reacted immediately by cleaving the blonde in front of him in half at the waist, only for said blonde to go up in smoke. Meizu and Gouzu jumped in opposite directions to dodge the two blondes attacking them before coming around on either side and catching them in their bladed chain, only for those two to turn out to be clones as well. Haku, thinking the blonde she was fighting to be the real one, flicked a small handful of senbon into the blonde's leg to slow him down, only for him to go up in smoke as well.

Before anyone could react, four more armored blondes burst from the ground behind each of them. Meizu was slashed across his back by three of the blonde's trench knives while Gouzu avoided injury, only just barely as he nailed both attacking blondes with a thrown kunai each. Zabuza cleaved his own attacker in half again after blocking a similar three-bladed swipe, his opponent turning out to be another clone. Haku formed a half-seal with her free hand, using the dense moisture in the air from the thin natural mist in the area to form a weak sheet of ice to form between her and her attacker; the ice was shattered on impact, but Haku had already moved behind the blonde and nailed him in the lower back with another handful of senbon.

Yet again, they were all just Shadow Clones, none of them noticing the stray kunai Haku's clone had thrown into the ground just before its death...

"Damn it! Just how many clones can this brat make?!" Meizu hissed through gnashed teeth, holding his shoulder with his ungauntleted hand as his back flared with white-hot pain, already feeling the effects of minor blood loss caused by his injuries.

"Enough to wear you all down..." Naruto's disembodied voice responded from all around them, making the Demon Brothers a little nervous while Haku and Zabuza remained calm and level headed. While Haku had never battled a jinchuuriki before, Zabuza had, having stood toe-to-toe with the Yondaime Mizukage, who was the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. That still didn't make it any easier on the former Swordsman of the Mist, having been at full strength when he fought the Mizukage and still lost, but fled before he could be killed. The boy obviously wasn't on the same level as the Mizukage had been, but he was still _very_ talented, unpredictable, and resourceful. "Now...Whose blood shall my blades taste next?"

"Oh my, aren't you a blood thirsty one?" Zabuza called out with a grin hidden by his mask of cloth wrappings, Haku standing a couple feet away with her back to him to avoid any more surprise attacks. "Too bad you can't intimidate a demon, kid!"

"Who says I was trying to intimidate anyone?" Naruto suddenly asked quietly from directly between them, keeping the strain of using Hiraishin well hidden as his six blades flashed, catching the back of Zabuza's right calf with his three right blades while hitting the back of Haku's left thigh with his three left blades. Both cried out in pain with Haku dropping to the ground and Zabuza jumping away, favoring his left leg now that his right was wounded. Still crouched down, Naruto ignored the retaliatory kunai thrown at him by Zabuza as it bounced off the armor covering his the back of his shoulders while he rushed forward, pouring his chakra into his legs to go as fast as he could and causing the ground to erupt slightly from the force of the take-off.

"Oh, shi-!" Meizu was cut short as Naruto rushed right by him, the gauntleted chuunin's eyes going wide with pain before three deep gashes in his side disgorged his blood. Gouzu, caught in Naruto's path, was frozen in place from watching the lethal blow being dealt to his brother. Naruto drove the serrated knuckle guards of all six of his trench knives into the other brother's chest, smashing Gouzu against a tree and crushing his rib cage from the momentum he had built up in his charge. Pulling the blades free and putting them away, Naruto let his four extra arms sink back into the plate on his back to keep from wasting any more chakra, his reserves already getting pretty low without Kyuubi's help boosting them.

"Fuck..." Zabuza hissed under his breath as his leg flared with pain; the Demon Brothers were dead, Haku was practically immobilized from her own wounds, and he wasn't much better since his right leg was his dominant one. While not immediately life-threatening, it severely limited his mobility and his options in terms of both attacking and defending since his right leg was the main one he used to support him whenever he swings Kubikiri. Now, with that support gone, his ability to use the blood-drinking sword was effectively cut in half. "One for the record books, ain't it? A-Rank missing-nin, former member of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist, and Demon of the Bloody Mist, Momochi Zabuza killed...by a damned genin...You'll certaintly have yourself a reputation after this, kid..."

"...I'm not in it for the _glory_..." Naruto returned quietly as he turned to face his last two living opponents, though one was grounded for the time being. Despite his calm facade, Naruto was exhausted, having expended too much chakra with his constant use of ninjutsu techniques and Taoreta Roku Busoushin no Chikara. "I do not like to kill, but I will if I must..."

"For what?" Zabuza growled angrily, his pride shattered from being defeated by a _genin_ without even putting a _scratch_ on the brat. Even as he spoke, he blinked away the blurriness in his vision from the blood flowing freely from his leg. "What purpose could you possibly have?!"

"To protect those that can't defend themselves...and those I cherish." Naruto answered coldly while fishing out a small dark red pill from one of his equipment pouches. Pulling his mask down for a moment to pop the medicine ball in his mouth, Naruto bit down on it and instantly felt his chakra come rushing back, but he would have to act fast. Charging his limbs with chakra, Naruto surged forward at full speed again, the ground he was standing on exploding from the strength he put into his take off. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was directly in front of Zabuza, right fist cocked back. His eyes were cold and unforgiving, startling Zabuza slightly as the man placed Kubikiri between them with the flat side facing outward like a make-shift shield. "Soukou Senkou!"

"Guah!" Was all Zabuza could get out as the golden armored fist went _through_ his sword, completely shattering the blade where he hit it, before going through his chest as well, blood pouring from the hole in his chest and from his mouth. Standing there, Naruto found himself unable to look away from the arm attached to the kunai that had been driven into his side...and it wasn't Zabuza's. The blonde did little more than grunt through clenched teeth despite being stabbed, the pill he had taken numbing his pain receptors.

"Gah!" Haku cried out in pain as her legs burned agonizingly, only to be punched in the middle of her chest by Naruto's free hand. The power behind it was enough to send her flying back and crack her sternum, her mask knocked off of her face from the impact. Sent tumbling across the ground for a good distance, Haku could only lie there once she came to a stop, eyes locking back onto Zabuza as the slain man fell to the ground, his killer retracting his arm from the swordsman's chest. Tears poured from her brown eyes endlessly as she laid there. Grunting quietly, Naruto pulled the kunai out of his side, covering the wound with one hand to slow the bleeding as he waited for Kyuubi to heal it. His eyes instantly went to Haku, but the anger that had filled them disappeared quickly when he saw the pain and heartbreak in her eyes as she stared at Zabuza's body. He recognized the emotion for what it was as its positive opposite, having seen it many times in Benihime's eyes whenever she looked at him...

 _'She...loved him?'_ Naruto thought in shock before staring down at his blood-drenched right arm. For some reason unknown to him, his hand shook slightly, but he clenched his hand into a fist to resist it, his gaze hardening once again as he looked to Haku. Adjusting his grip on the kunai he had been stabbed with, Naruto threw the dagger at the young woman, the shard of metal streaking through the air between them before burying itself in the woman's neck. Closing his eyes and turning away from the carnage he had wrought, Naruto formed a Kage Bunshin and left it to dispose of the four bodies.

He didn't get far before the medicine ball he had taken earlier wore off, his strength plummeting lower than it had been before and making him trip over his own feet. Too weak to stop his fall, Naruto simply hit the ground and laid there, breathing heavily as the half-way healed stab wound in his side started bleeding again. Weakly forcing himself into a sitting position after a couple minutes, Naruto leaned back against the tree beside him. It took him a few minutes, but he managed to get himself into a meditative lotus position with his hands resting in his lap, knuckles pressed together and fingers curled in loose fists. Clearing his mind, Naruto reverted to the lessons he had been taught concerning the basics of his Sage training...

He needed to recover his lost chakra and let his body heal before making a move against Gatou...

xXx

"Where is he?" Benihime mumbled quietly under her breath, sitting in a chair at the table that was facing the front door with her knees drawn up to her chest as she waited for Naruto to come back; it was already dark out and there had been no sign of him. It didn't help that Karasu had been making her dislike of the red head a little obvious, at least to the Akajuu. Already, Karasu had made a comment here and there about Benihime's concern for Naruto being 'unnecessary' or 'over-exaggerated'. Yeah, she knew he was strong and could take care of himself, but the Uchiha's comments were seriously starting to upset her.

"Stop worrying about him so much. Naruto's not a child." Karasu remarked snidely while passing by, throwing Benihime a look out of the corner of her eye. Already stressed out about where Naruto was and whether or not he was hurt, Benihime snapped the moment the last syllable left Karasu's mouth, clearing the distance between them and pinning the Uchiha to the wall by the throat in the blink of an eye, the chair she had been sitting in having been thrown against the wall.

"Look here, _bitch_! I don't care what you're little game is..." Benihime hissed through clenched teeth and bared fangs, uncaring of the others in the vicinity watching the altercation with wide eyes. Tightening her grip a little bit and pressing the tips of her claws into Karasu's neck as the Uchiha glared at her defiantly, Benihime narrowed her furious teal eyes at the girl. "...But I just so happen to be his _girlfriend_ , so I'll worry about him as much as I want. If you have such a problem with that, then...Too. Fucking. Bad."

"Che..." Karasu scoffed, not the least bit scared of the Akajuu, but still a bit shaken up by the speed she had moved at. "Let go of me..."

"Akajuu-san...Release my student." Kakashi stated firmly from a few feet away, his lone eye narrowed at the red head. The jounin was honestly a little surprised when Benihime's teal eyes darted up to meet his gaze, but her hostility didn't faulter in the slightest, unlike earlier that day during the...avid disagreement he and Naruto had. Glaring back at Karasu for a few more seconds, Benihime slowly pulled back before walking over to where Tsunami and Tazuna were standing, bowing at the waist respectfully.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance..." She mumbled quietly and calmly to them before turning and heading outside, throwing Karasu one last glare as she walked past the girl before taking a moment to pick up the chair she had sent flying a few seconds ago. Once she was outside, Karasu sat down near the edge of the pier-like boardwalk surrounding the shore-side house, knees drawn back up to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. "Stupid bitch...Who does she think she is, antagonizing me like that?"

"That is something I would like to know as well." Kakashi spoke up before leaning back against a nearby post, his hands in his pockets and staring down at Benihime out of the corner of his eye. "I would also like to know why you attacked one of my students."

"Hmph...I would say you're better off asking _her_ , but I doubt she'd give you an honest answer." Benihime growled quietly, still rather aggitated from Karasu's constant pestering. "She's been making passes at me all day just because I've been worried about Naruto...She's probably doing it on purpose to stress me out even more..."

"I'd say she succeeded, if that's what she was trying to do." Kakashi commented idly before holding a hand up placantingly when Benihime turned her angered gaze back up to the jounin. "Either way, I still don't understand why you attacked my student."

"An Akajuu doesn't settle disputes with words. We...use our claws." Benihime answered, pausing for a moment as she avoided thinking of her fallen clansmen; now wasn't the best time for her to lose her temper completely _and_ break down into tears as well. "We're also...territorial...and your _student_ has been pushing her luck all day."

"And why exactly would she be doing that?" Kakashi questioned, his eye narrowing merely out of general suspicioun of the situation. He was also very curious as to what was going on; like Benihime had said earlier, Karasu hadn't given him a straight-forward answer. Barely an answer at all, really.

"Hmph...When Karasu was talking with Naruto in private yesterday, she asked who I was...so I told her the truth, that I was his girlfriend." Benihime responded, spitting out the Uchiha's name as if it were poison. "She didn't look all that happy then and has been giving me an attitude since...and I'm sick of it!"

"Any idea as to why?" Kakashi questioned, getting a shake of the head from Benihime. The jounin sighed slightly; nothing was ever simple anymore. Just as he was about to say something else, he spotted something moving along his peripheral vision near the tree line. Glancing up, Kakashi's lone eye widened slightly upon seeing Naruto...bloody and exhausted. On his back was Kubikiri Houcho while the Demon Brothers' gauntlets hung at his left hip with their bladed chain coiled around his waist, Haku's mask hanging from his right hip. Blood stained most of his golden armor and his clothes in messy splatters, his blue eyes seemingly lifeless and unfocused. "Naruto..."

"Wha...Naruto!" Benihime exclaimed with a cheerful smile, but before she could even stand up fully, Kakashi had grabbed her and pulled her back, his lone eye narrowing slightly. "Hatake? What are you doing?! Let me go!"

"Stop. Something's not right..." Kakashi responded without taking his eye off of Naruto. The blonde didn't so much as blink as he shambled past them, almost as if he didn't even see them. It took a moment, but Kakashi realized what was wrong with the teen. "...His mind shut down."

"What?!" Benihime exclaimed, suddenly worried even more than before about her boyfriend.

"Everyone's mind has a thresh hold for everything; pain, fear, anger, joy. Once that thresh hold is reached, it reacts in different ways." Kakashi started explaining, watching as Naruto went inside and most likely to the room he and Benihime had been given to use. "Most commonly in our line of work, the mind shuts down. Chances are, he won't remember much of anything that happened today...Whatever it was he did, though, a lot of people died."

"Oh, my god!" Someone suddenly exclaimed from inside, most likely Tsunami. Kakashi didn't hesitate to create a Kage Bunshin, the clone immediately taking off into the woods while the silver haired jounin headed inside, Benihime following behind him in shocked silence. Maybe she had been a little hasty with her affections after all...

xXx

It didn't take long for Kakashi's clone to reach its destination; Gatou's compound, formerly the Wave Country Daimyou Palace. It was a rather large five-story tall traditional castle with a lot of open property all around it surrounded by a fifteen foot high wall of stone. When the clone landed atop the wall, it didn't see a single guard patrolling the grounds or any signs of life. There were several patches of fire and ash and scorched earth, the smaller buildings around the palace that acted as the guard barracks and other less important buildings were half-demolished, the palace itself was in a similar condition with large holes punched through the walls and a few small fires scattered around some of the other areas. Off to the side away from the buildings was a massive fire, the stench of burning flesh still strong in the air.

"Oh, my god..." Clone Kakashi muttered in shock, spotting the crucified corpse of Gatou, staked to the wall of the palace above the main entrance with several katanas, undoubtedly having once belonged to some of men in the dead tyrant's small army of thugs, criminals, civilian mercenaries, and rounin. The clone had no doubt that those very same men now fueled the giant fire, the source of the nearly suffocating stink of burning corpses that filled the air. Unable to bear witness to the horrorifying sight, Clone Kakashi hastily dispelled itself, transfering its knowledge to its creator.

If it had stayed just a minute longer, it would have seen a rounin missing his left arm from just above the elbow stumbling and fall out the doorway of one of the barracks, mumbling the same thing over and over again in terror as they desperately tried to get away from the area...

"Demon...Golden...Demon..." He muttered hysterically, his left eye rendered useless from splintered wood stabbing into it during the 'Golden Demon's' initial attack. His right was wide and over-flowing with fear, the rounin resorting to crawling across the ground in his weakened state, wanting to get as far away as he could before the demon came back...

xXx

"He's sleeping now." Benihime spoke up quietly as she walked over to Kakashi, who was sitting at the table with his elbows braced on it, his head resting in his hands. The jounin had been prepared for a lot of things to happen during the mission, but a 'locked mind' was not one of them. He was going to have to speak the Sandaime about possibly having Naruto visit a Yamanaka after they get back to Konoha. "Kakashi?"

"Hm?" The jounin hummed out in slight startlement as he looked up at her curiously, broken from his thoughts. She repeated what she had said a moment ago. "Oh, good...What about the blood?"

"...Tsunami is washing Naruto's clothes as we speak. I'll be taking care of his armor and...his new equipment." Benihime answered softly, hesitating near the end, her mind wanting to call them 'trophies'. Then again, they might as well have been, though she knew them to be proof of his kills for bounty collections. The only thing that wasn't splattered with blood was the sword's blade, which she found rather strange since there was blood on the handle, but nowhere else.

"Good, good...I'll, uh...I'll apologize to her myself in a little while about the scare earlier." Kakashi responded just as softly as Benihime, both feeling rather...drained after everything that had transpired in the past hour alone. "You can, um...You can go to bed now, if you want...Keep an eye on Naruto or something..."

"Yeah...Sleep sounds good right about now..." She mumbled quietly before heading back to the room she and Naruto were sharing.

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Fuuton: Roku Setsudanfuu- Wind Release: Six Cutting Winds

Suiton: Suiben- Water Release: Water Whip

Doton: Chikyuu no Yari- Earth Release: Earth Spears

Soukou Senkou- Armor Piercer


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Nine

 **"I've got to say, boy...That was the most ruthless wholesale slaughter I've ever seen."** The Kyuubi no Kitsune growled out from the dark recesses of its 'cage', its menacing crimson eyes peering out from the shadows to stare down at the blonde standing just beyond the gates.

"I'm not in the mood for your 'compliments', Kyuubi..." Naruto mumbled out monotonously, his head hanging low enough for his shaggy bangs to almost completely hide his face from view. Snarling, Kurama slammed his shoulder against the gates, glaring down at the boy with an unbelievable level of anger burning in his scarlet irises.

 **"I wasn't** _ **complimenting**_ **you, boy!"** Kurama snapped as he backed away from the gates, his nine tails flailing around behind him in a chaotic manner as if to put his emotions into visual form. **"What you did...What happened to you being a protector, boy?! A paragon of compassion and bravery?! What happened at that compound...only a** _ **monster**_ **would do such a thing so mercilessly."**

"When did you start caring about what I do?!" Naruto suddenly barked out at the giant nine-tailed fox, turning his soul-piercing blue orbs on the Kyuubi, his fanged snarl hidden by his armored face mask. "Since day one, you've done nothing but critisize me and insult me! So, tell me, Kyuubi! When the fuck did you start caring about anything I did?! Huh?!"

 **"While only my third container, you're the only one that hasn't tried to use or take my power. You rarely even ask for it."** Kurama snarled 'quietly' as he leaned down until his head was lying on the ground, his burning red eyes glaring at the blonde that was only as tall as his snout was. Hearing his words, Naruto actually hesitated, his eyes widening in shock. **"I tormented you because I thought you were just waiting for me to drop my guard before trying to take my power, just as all you damn humans are always doing; always hungering for more and more power. That's why I have been denying you my chakra these past few days. I wanted to test you...Even when you were exhausted and on your last leg during your fight with Zabuza and his lackies, you still didn't ask for my power. You kept going on your own power...and then you go and brutally massacre three hundred men that were so far below you in skill and power that you might as well have been a God compared to them. Not only that, but you** _ **crucified**_ **a man to a wall without the slightest bit of remorse or regret. You didn't even hesitate. While the man might have deserved it, that does not mean you are the Judge, Jury, and Executioner..."**

As the Bijuu's words slowly sunk in, Naruto's gaze gradually lowered more and more until he was staring down at the ankle deep water that flooded his mindscape. Below him, he saw a warped reflection of himself, only his armor was blood red, like his eyes, and giving him a vicious fanged grin with only ill intent on his mind. He knew he did all of that, but...why? What made him do that? What drove him to commit such an aweful thing?

He was just going to take out Zabuza and his group and then take out Gatou himself, but he'd been wounded and exhausted when he got done with the fight, so he took a few minutes to catch his breath, regain some of his chakra, and let the stab wound in his side heal. Wait! The medicine ball...He took the medicine ball just before their final 'clash' and almost minutes later, he ended up going off the deep end. There had to be a connection between them somehow. It was the only thing he could think of...There had to be something in it that triggered something in his mind that caused him to go on that killing spree.

 **"It was the Shadow Lily..."** Kurama wrasped out as his own eyes widened with realization; because of the seal binding their souls together to a certain extent due to the Shinigami's involvement in his sealing, the two could 'feel' what the other was thinking, but not their actual thoughts. All he had sensed from Naruto was remembering something near the end of the fight with Zabuza and the others. The only thing Kurama could think of that might have been noteworthy was the medicine ball.

"S-Shadow Lily?" Naruto parroted with a momentary stutter, confused and a little worried as he looked back up at his tenant and 'frienemy'. "What's that?"

 **"It's a potent plant that is in equal parts medicinal and poisonous at the same time. That medicine ball must have had some in it."** Kurama growled out, mostly thinking outloud as he sat back up while keeping his head bowed to keep Naruto within his sight. **"It grants a temporary, but powerful spike in chakra, blocks out most of the pain the user consciously feels when injured, and actually causes a momentary burst of rapid healing, but only for a couple minutes at the very most. However, it also enhances the user's aggression and blood lust, but it takes a high concentration of it to cause a reaction like yours. I don't think there was enough in the medicine ball to affect anyone else other than causing overly aggressive behavior, let alone a reaction like yours, but...I think because of your constant exposure to my chakra and the fact you were still angry with the Scarecrow, you became hyper-sensitive to the Shadow Lily."**

"So, that's...that's what made me do all of that?" Naruto asked rhetorically as he looked back down at his reflection in the water for a moment, only to look back up at the Kyuubi. "How did you know about that?"

 **"Your mother, my previous jailer, was hyper-sensitive to Shadow Lily as well and had experienced a similar reaction to it in her younger years, though it had not been as...extreme as yours was."** Kurama explained while finally deciding to simply lay down with his front paws crossed over one another, his head resting on top of them. **"That medicine ball...Where did you get it?"**

"Tsunade-baa-chan gave it to me. She said it was a 'last resort' kind of thing since it wouldn't last all that long and I'd be left even weaker than before I took it..." Naruto answered, thinking back on the seemingly harmless gift she had given him the last time they'd seen each other, which had been a week before he had finally returned to Konoha with Jiraiya. "I...I don't think she did it intentionally. I don't think she even knew that it would have that kind of an effect on me."

 **"I can not argue that point, boy. Even I didn't think about it since I've only had one direct encounter with it through your mother when she was around your age and it has been a great many years since then."** Kurama agreed before glancing away as a thought occured to him. Feeling something from the giant fox through their mild empathic connection, Naruto gave the Kyuubi a curious look as he tried to figure out exactly what it was that was bothering the titanic vulpine. Both figuratively and literally feeling that he had Naruto's total focus directed at him, Kurama sighed slightly and continued to avoid looking at the boy. **"I guess...I was a little too quick to judge you earlier..."**

"...Same here, Furball." Naruto admitted begrudingly as he fidgeted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and head. "I, uh...I'm gonna go. I think I've been here long enough for today."

 **"Yeah..."** Kurama murmured as Naruto's mental manifestation faded away a few seconds later. Glancing back to the spot Naruto had been standing out of the corner of his eye, Kurama shook his head slightly and turned around, only to curl up a couple moments later as he decided to take a nap to pass the time.

xXx

Slowly opening his eyes as he finally came out of his meditative state, Naruto almost immediately became aware of an all-too familiar weight. Curled up in his lap and snuggled up against his chest was Benihime, looking almost as if she were sleeping. It had been a wrong assumption when Benihime, sensing movement from her boyfriend, slowly opened her eyes and stared up at him for a moment before smiling warmly at him.

"Hey." She whispered softly before getting a little bit more comfortable in her chosen spot, nuzzling her cheek against Naruto's bare chest. Wearing only his usual black pants, Naruto was free of his armor and had been sitting in a lotus position for the past hour as he meditated. Now that he was 'back', she could finally spend some time with him again. "You feeling any better?"

"I...don't really know how to answer that right now." Naruto mumbled quietly, glancing to the side. "I don't feel like I did last night, if that's what you meant, but...I remember everything. I know what I did last night, I know what triggered it, and I know that I wasn't myself last night. Yet I still feel disgusted with myself for what I did..."

"Hey, don't start. You'll only freak yourself out for no reason." The crimson haired Akajuu urged softly as she sat up in his lap, straddling him as she looked him in the eye. Cupping his cheeks with both of her hands, Benihime stared into his almost hypnotizing ocean blue eyes for a few seconds before a small loving smile pulled at her lips. Planting a gentle kiss on his lips, Benihime let her hands slide down to his shoulders as she leaned closer to him so that their chests were pressing together. It was then that her smile gained a slightly seductive feel to it. "I worry about you enough, Naru-kun. I don't need you having a panic attack out of nowhere when we could be...doing other things..."

For a moment, Naruto could only stare at her with a blank look on his face before finally sighing and shaking his head a little bit, smiling at his girlfriend's apparent one-track mind...

"Yeah. You're addicted." He mumbled teasingly before kissing her back, getting a look of confusion from Benihime as she tilted her head slightly. Smirking, Naruto slowly slid his hands up Benihime's thighs to her hips before moving to her rear, slowly squeezing both meaty cheeks with a strong grip. The red haired young woman bit down on her bottom lip as an almost inaudible whimper escaped her, instinctively pressing her hips a little more firmly against Naruto's. Pushing her bountiful chest against Naruto's while burying her face against his neck, the Akajuu started breathing a little more heavily as Naruto kept groping her ass. She then had a full-body spasm when she felt his hot breath on her ear. "You are addicted...to _this_."

"Mmm...O-Of...course I am." Benihime stammered out, spasming again as a jolt of pleasure shot up her spine; well, she wanted to distract him from those dark, depressing thoughts. Now, she had to pay for it. Slowly rocking her hips and grinding against her boyfriend's clothed arousal, Benihime leaned up a little and started nibbling on Naruto's ear; she _really_ couldn't help it. With her heightened sense of smell, she was always being struck with his intoxicating scent and lingering pheromones. Not only that, but he was always so damn warm and it only made things harder on her because it made her want to cuddle with him, but the closer she was to him, the stronger his scent and the pheromones became. It also didn't help that she had already been a very affectionate and 'touchy-feely' kind of person _before_ they'd started having sex; it had only gotten much, _much_ worse since then. That and her instincts were constantly screaming at her to mount the 'perfect life-mate' that was the blonde brawler every single time they were alone together, which was one of the leading causes of her teasing him into giving in to her 'demands'. "Oooh...Naru-kun! Please?"

"Someone's sounding a little desperate." He whispered into her ear before purposefully sucking on her earlobe. Getting another whimper out of her that was a little louder than before, Naruto kept his left hand on the horny young woman's rear while slowly stroking her thigh with his right. While she often enjoyed teasing him into submission, Naruto had a similar form of sensual entertainment by relentlessly teasing Benihime until she would either start to literally beg or would no longer be able to restrain herself. Regardless of whichever outcome it ended up being, Benihime was always left damn near catatonic afterwards, something she absolutely _loved_ even though she had to be tortured for so long beforehand.

 _'Kami, I love this sexy bastard way too much.'_ Benihime mentally whined as a throaty moan slipped out, her slowly gyrating hips gradually picking up the pace as she pressed harder against him. Breath hitching in her throat, Benihime tilted her head back as her eyes rolled back, her mind hazing over with lust and sexual need as Naruto started sucking on the front of her throat while lightly dragging his nails down her back, right along her spine. At the same time, he had slipped his other hand into the slit-like opening on the side of her pants before roughly squeezing her ass again. Digging her claw-like nails into the back of Naruto's shoulders as she held him as close to her as possible with every last bit of strength she had, Benihime swore to get him back when they got back to Konoha.

"P-Pleeeaaasseee..." Benihime moaned out as her body spasmed again from Naruto raking his nails along the sensitive flesh of her thigh just below her rear under her pants. Now panting quite heavily as her hormones started rushing through her veins in copious amounts, Benihime shivered in pleasure before latching on to Naruto's shoulder with her teeth in the same spot she always bit him, her core termperature quickly growing hotter and hotter as she started getting far too aroused to endure her lover's merciless teasing for much longer. When she released his shoulder, another whimpering moan escaped her as another full-body spasm raced up and down her spine from all of the pleasurable sensations. "I...I-I ne...need it...Please, Naruuu..."

"No, I don't think you _need_ it just yet. Want it, yes, but need it?" Naruto tauntingly countered, getting a pitiable whine out of the red head as she started grinding against him even more as she sunk her fangs into his shoulder. This time, it was his turn for his breath to hitch in his throat, but not out of pain. After so long, it had actually become one of his favorite 'turn ons'. Growling quietly in his throat, Naruto grinned wolfishly as he focused a bit of chakra into his finger tips, causing his nails to length into short claws. Promptly digging the claws on his left hand into the soft meat of Benihime's rear end, Naruto moved his right to her hip, only with his thumb hooked under the waist band of her pants. The direct skin-to-skin contact in such a highly sensitive area was enough to force Benihime back into submission as she whimpered, her hips bucking all the more.

Growling deeply next to her ear before lightly nipping it with his teeth, Naruto savored the quiet whimper that answered it as Benihime pressed her body flush against his. Still grinding her hips against his, Benihime pawed at his chest with one hand as she whined softly, lightly running her claws down his pec as she felt Naruto's left hand reach almost all the way around her thigh and butt cheek, his finger tips being less than an inch from her opening, his hand steadily kneading her plump flesh with rough, forceful gropes every time.

She was _so_ glad that she had managed to get Naruto to 'play along' with her when it came to their foreplay sessions. Because of her partial relation to the Inuzuka clan, Benihime had been a 'noisy' girl from the start and when she was being 'handled' like how Naruto was currently doing with her, the sounds she tended to make almost always came out as almost canine-like whines, whimpers, and growls with the occassional horny moan and pleasured groan thrown into the mix every so often while a lot of biting, nipping, and light to moderate clawing was almost always involved in their foreplay sessions. It had taken him a little bit, but he eventually caught on to the fact that she was actually submitting to her 'Alpha' whenever he actually got dominant, just like he was at the moment. Once he figured it out and started following her example, Naruto's dominance over her had been secured and would go uncontested for the rest of their lives.

While it was almost painfully arousing for her, him asserting his dominance over her like that actually made her heart soar with absolute joy. While it was something that Naruto had to figure out on his own amongst Benihime's constant 'subtle' hints, clues, and nudges, giving in to one's instincts and 'animalistic side' during love-making was actually a natural thing for all Akajuu. She didn't know if the Inuzuka clan had the same courting 'rituals', but at the moment, Akajuu Benihime couldn't care less because she was with her boyfriend, her lover, her _Alpha_.

"N-Naruu...I-I c-can't ta...take m-much more of...this. I _need_ you." Benihime desperately whimpered into his ear as her eyes watered slightly with a couple fresh tears, nibbling on his earlobe invitingly as she slowly slid her hand down from Naruto's chest towards the waist band of his pants. The crotch of her pants was completely drenched with her juices from all of the teasing and grinding over-stimulating her. She was now so horny that it was actually starting to hurt. She most definitely needed him and fast. Hooking a couple fingers on the waist band of his pants, Benihime lightly nuzzled him along his jaw before pressing her lips to his and instantly slipping her tongue into his mouth. It only took a couple seconds for Naruto to force her tongue back into her own mouth with his following close behind it, but the moment he did, Benihime slid her hand all the way into his pants and wrapped her fingers around his member while simultaneously sucking on his tongue for a couple moments, moaning softly. Leaning forward again as she started to slowly stroke him, Benihime gently grabbed his earlobe with her teeth, lightly tugging on it a little bit as she whined as desperately and pleadingly as she could manage. "I need you in me so bad right now, Naru. Please. I'm _begging_ you...Please, fuck me until the sunrise after next."

"Hm...I think I can manage that one." He quietly growled into her ear, making Benihime shiver quite a bit out of barely containable anticipation and mild trepidation. Ignoring the Shadow Clone that popped into existence a couple feet away from them before it started placing privacy and sound-proofing seals in specific parts of the room, Benihime found herself staring into the cool depths of her lover's blue eyes as he moved her over to the futon. As he hovered over her on his hands and knees, Benihime instinctually submitted to him entirely, unable to look away from his gorgeous sapphire irises. Even as he ducked his head down, holding direct eye contact with her the whole time, and started nipping and sucking at the exposed flesh of her breasts through the diamond-shaped cut-out in her top.

Groaning with ecstacy, Benihime arched her back and thrust her chest out more as Naruto used one of his hands to slowly and expertly undress her with well-practiced skill after doing it so often. Running her fingers through Naruto's hair after being stripped of her top, the red head gasped loudly and shivered as Naruto purposefully grazed her right nipple with his teeth, only to start sucking on it immediately after. Feeling as if she was about to literally lose her mind and physically explode from an overload of pent-up lust and desire if she didn't have his cock stuffed inside of her in the next ten seconds, Benihime immediately started fumbling with undoing Naruto's pants. The fire that had been ignited in her core had just gone super nova and there was only one cure for it. That 'cure' was then fully grasped in her hand as she locked lips with him again, their tongues battling tirelessly as she used her free hand to slide a condom over Naruto's member.

"I love you, Naruto-kun." Benihime whispered into his ear as she lightly nuzzled her cheek against his affectionately, still holding his wrapped-up member in her hand. "I love you so much."

"And I..." Naruto started, only to trail off for a moment as Benihime purposefully stroked him just right to make _him_ convulse for a second, unintentionally interrupting him as she got a little bit of revenge for the torture he had put her through over the past fiften or twenty minutes. Growling and nipping at her neck to get her to stop for a moment, Naruto waited for her to submit to him again before lovingly kissing her. After a couple seconds, he pulled his head back and looked her in the eye with a sincere loving smile. "And _I_ love _you_ , Akajuu Benihime..."

Having not expected those particular words to be echoed back to her just yet, Benihime could only stare up at Naruto with her wide teal eyes, her brain struggling to comprehend exactly what she had just heard. A couple seconds later, her eyes started watering with tears of joy as she tightly wrapped her arms around Naruto's head and neck, kissing him with as much passion and love she was physically capable of 'giving' another person. They might not have known each other for very long and would seem pretty rushed to anyone else, but Benihime had always trusted in her instincts and they had yet to steer her wrong. After that first night at Naruto's house in Konoha, those same instincts told her that Naruto was 'the one' for her, as cliche and cheesy as it sounded. It was the main reason why she tried so hard to get together with him.

Now, she could say it was actually official; she was his and he was hers...

After nearly a minute and a half with neither coming up for air yet, Benihime proved to be the first to 'break' as her spine arched quite drastically without warning and her head was reflexively thrown back from an intense surge of near-orgasmic pleasure rushing through her body. Having already been in the process of lifting her up slightly with his hand already supporting her lower back, Naruto started nipping and kissing her neck from the corner of her jaw just below her ear to the base where it met her shoulder, only to bite down on the same exact spot she had first 'marked' him. Eyes rolling back in her skull from the euphoria of the bite as she finally sucked in a desperate gasp of air to refill her lungs, Benihime immediately let it back out in the form of a loud, drawn-out, and absolutely raunchy groan of sexual bliss as her beloved Alpha caught her off guard at the same time, penetrating deep into her opening with a little more force than she had been expecting.

If it hadn't been for the seals his clone had put up, Naruto had no doubt in his mind that Benihime would have been heard by every single person in and/or around the house within a hundred meters of their room, instantly broadcasting what they were doing to everyone in the vicinity. Oh, yes. She was most definitely a _very_ 'noisy' girl...

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"Those go over there." Tazuna instructed as he pointed over to one of the spots where clusters of workers were gathered, directing one of many new laborers towards the incomplete end of the bridge he was building that would directly connect Wave Country with Fire Country. Even as the golden armored doppleganger of the original started heading towards the work station it'd been directed to, Tazuna still couldn't help staring owlishly at the pair of sixteen foot long solid steel I-beams the clone was currently balancing on its shoulders as if they were plain old two-by-fours. It wasn't the only one either. There were almost two dozen others scattered all throughout the bridge, helping speed up the construction. "Man...That brat's something else."

"Yeah, he's a very...unique person, isn't he?" Kakashi agreed from a few feet away, currently sitting on top of an empty and currently unused wooden crate with his trademark Icha Icha in hand, his one visible eye never leaving its pages. It had been three days since Naruto had returned from killing Zabuza's crew and exterminating Gatou and his men. While he had found it rather odd that neither Naruto nor Benihime left their room for even a moment the entire first day and no one had heard even the quietest of noises come from inside the room, Kakashi had figured they were just catching up on a _lot_ of sleep or something and had left them alone considering what Naruto had gone through the prior night.

For the past two days, however, Naruto and a small army of clones had been working hard with helping Tazuna build the bridge. The golden armor-clad blondes had been taking care of most of the heavy lifting like helping set foundation stones under the water for the bridge's support pillars and distributing the proper materials to the right places like the clone with the I-beams who was taking them to the welders and mason workers where the I-beams would be run from one pillar to the next to hold up the next section of the bridge and anything that tried to cross it.

"Unique? 'Unique' is _not_ the word I'd use to describe _him_." Tazuna countered with a flat look while hiking a thumb towards one of the armored blonde teens in particular that was walking past them.

Glancing up from his book, Kakashi maintained his flat stare even as he watched the clone march on by as if nothing was strange about the fact that he was carrying a twelve foot by twelve foot stone tile that was four feet thick and weighed somewhere between two to three tons, holding it up above his head as he headed towards the incomplete end of the bridge. Following a few meters behind him was another clone hefting the same exact giant stone tile over his head. They were foundation stones for the bridge's next pair of support pillars. Blinking a couple times without any change in his facial expression, Kakashi casually returned his gaze to the literature in his hands.

"Hm. That's nice..." The jounin commented idly as he turned the page, blatantly ignoring the look Tazuna was giving him because of how nonchalant and carefree Kakashi was being about the insanity that was Naruto's physical strength. Seriously, they had a mobile crane and yet it was still sitting in the same spot it had been in two days ago when they'd last used it. They had stopped using it because Naruto, who could create a seemingly infinite number of Shadow Clones, was helping them with the bridge construction. Naruto just so happened to be stronger than anyone they had ever heard of. Plus, he moved faster than the crane did and there were usually about two to three dozen of him working in different areas whereas there was just one crane.

Elsewhere, unbeknownst to the others, Naruto and Benihime had been sneaking off together while leaving behind two of Naruto's clones with one under a Henge to act as Benihime. It had actually been Naruto's idea, especially after hearing about how Karasu had been behaving towards Benihime while he had been gone. Karasu was his childhood best friend and was like a sister to him, but he wasn't going to let her treat his girlfriend as if she were lower than dirt. Truthfully, she was lucky Naruto just wanted to outright avoid the issue for the time being instead of directly confronting her on the matter.

"You, my good sir, are the biggest cheater in the world." Benihime teased as she took a seat on a nearby stone, crossing one leg over the other as she grinned at her boyfriend, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

They were still wearing their usual 'on duty' clothing, but they had both foregone their respective armor sets and weapons, wanting to just wander around the middle of nowhere and spend time together. Without the need for a bed and staying fully clothed at the same time. It was something they had both been wanting to do, but had been unable to since they'd only been around each other for a couple weeks at most so far and a majority of that time had been spent either in bed, training, or on a mission of some form in Naruto's case.

For once, they just wanted to have some alone time with each other without having to worry about anyone bothering them or something happening to ruin it for them...

"What? How am I a cheater?" Naruto countered with the most dumbfounded expression on his face as he gave her a weird look that was a cross between disbelief and bewilderment. He was absolutely confused by her sudden accusation. "I haven't even done anything!"

"Hehehe! Babe, I was talking about your clones!" Benihime giggled out hysterically while Naruto simply stared at her with a mildly irritated flat look before shaking his head and stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. Once she was finally able to get her laughter under control, Benihime decided to prove her statement with a few well known facts. "Seriously, love. In _your_ hands, the Shadow Clone technique is like the ultimate life hack! I mean, look at us right now. Everyone else thinks that you and a couple dozen clones are helping build the bridge and that I'm off...doing _something_...when in all actuality, those two are just clones themselves while the two of us are aimlessly galavanting through the woodlands of Wave Country."

"...You've put a lot of thought into this arguement, haven't you?" Naruto responded after a few seconds of silence, one of his eye brows raised as he gave his girlfriend another weird look. When she started pouting and glared at him, Naruto decided to go in for the kill. "I mean, really, Hime? Galavanting? We're... _galavanting_...through the woodlands now, are we?"

"S-Shut up, asshole! Let me have my moment!" Benihime yelled at him, her face burning a bright red with embarrassment as she did her best to stay where she was and not pounce on the aggravating, cheeky, sarcastically quick-witted, roguishly handsome blonde she was romantically and very intimately involved with. She simply sat there on the rock, glaring at him from a good ten feet away as she tried her best to stay mad at him. _'Damn it! Focus, girl! Focus! You gotta stay mad at him! But...I can't. It's those damn eyes of his! They're just too pretty...Why couldn't I have eyes like those? Then_ I _could get away with everything instead of it being the other way around. Cheating bastard...'_

"Okay, you just went through like...twenty different facial expressions in only five seconds." Naruto pointed out before uncrossing his arms, holding his hands above his head in defeat as he turned around and started walking away. "That shit is just too damn weird for me. I'm done."

"N-Naru~!" Benihime whined pathetically as he started walking away, only for him to turn back to face her and stick his tongue out at her just like she did to him a few minutes ago, childishly taunting her. Almost immediately, she went from being on the verge of crying to fuming mad in half a second while Naruto started laughing pretty hard from where he was. He looked like he was having a little bit of trouble breathing, too. That was when Benihime made her move while Naruto was distracted, swifly pouncing on him as if he were prey. _'Well, then again...'_

"Hahaha! What? Can't take a joke, babe?" Naruto wheezed out with laughter while covering his head with his arms as Benihime, who was sitting on his chest, continuously tried to smack him. However, she only made contact with his forearms and it only made her more upset that she wasn't accomplishing what she had set out to do, thus spurring her to keep trying and to try harder. All the while, Naruto just kept laughing, thoroughly enjoying his time with the red haired Akajuu beauty. "Oh, come on! It was funny!"

"No. The. Fuck. It. Wasn't. You. Jack. Ass." Benihime growled out one by one, punctuating each word with a fist aimed at his face, only to be effortlessly blocked each and every time; then again, she wasn't actually trying to hurt him. She just wanted him to suffer for his stupid 'joke', but...he wasn't really suffering. If anything, he was probably laughing harder than he was earlier. Finally giving up, Benihime huffed indignantly and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring off to the side as she just sat there. Straddling his chest. Then again, she was as light as a feather to him, so it didn't really matter. "You suck..."

"I thought that was more _your_ forte." Naruto fired back with a suggestive smirk. Eyes going wide, Benihime went rigid as her cheeks began to nearly glow a deep red from how flushed they became. Instead of arguing, however, she simply stayed quiet and avoided looking at him. While he started snickering at her reaction, Benihime was actually trying her best not to think about what Naruto had just insinuated. While it had crossed her mind out of curiousity once or twice since they had started sleeping together, Benihime had never actually done something like that and...

 _'Great. Now I'm thinking about it. Daaamn it, Naru.'_ The teal eyed girl mentally whined as she tried her best not to start fidgeting nervously and to ignore her slight arousal at the thought of actually doing it. Thankfully, her fear of messing up and embarrassing herself kept her from acting on it. For now. Huffing indignantly once more, Benihime simply leaned forward and gently kissed Naruto on the lips, the two falling into a comfortable silence almost immediately after because of it. Looking into each others eyes for a few moments, they shared a small, warm smile before kissing again. Sighing contentedly as she laid down next to him in the grass and snuggled up against his side, Benihime let an almost drunken smile tug at her lips as she rested her head on Naruto's chest. Closing her eyes and listening to his heart beat, she suddenly felt as if everything was perfect, but...not in the literal sense of the word.

It was just the two of them, enjoying each others company and making memories together that they would never forget. Of course, she hadn't forgotten about the look in Naruto's eyes that had honestly scared her a little just a few days ago nor the fiasco that had happened later on that same night, but...it wasn't something that should be dwelled upon. It was a problem, yes, but it was a problem that they would fix together, no matter how long it took. She would never let anything take her Alpha from her and she knew without a doubt in her mind and heart that he wouldn't let anything ever happen to her either.

"Mm. I love you." She mumbled softly as she got comfortable; a mid-afternoon nap actually sounded rather nice at the moment. Feeling Naruto's hand come to rest on her hip and hold her closer to his side, Benihime let out another soft sigh of bliss as she draped her leg over his.

"And I love you." Naruto whispered back as he gently kissed the top of her head, making her giggle quietly and blush a little bit, smiling happily. She knew her instincts were never wrong...

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A/N: Okay, to start things off...I know. I know this chapter turned out to be pretty smutty smack-dab in the middle (I am also aware of the rather sudden mood change, deal with it). Please believe me, I did **NOT** intend to do that (honest!). It was and still technically was supposed to focus primarily on Naruto and Benihime and to show them progressing with their relationship on a more emotional level, but it just kind of...happened like that. Remember, guys; I don't write these stories. These stories write themselves. They just use me as a medium to do the physical work of typing it all out. Anyways, after I finished that particular portion of the chapter, I contemplated rewriting that whole section, but...I didn't. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but YOU'RE STUCK WITH IT! Besides...I feel like I did pretty good with it, but I'm obviously biased in that regard. I mean, come on! It's me. Of course I'm gonna think I did good on it, but to be entirely honest, I would like to hear your honest opinions on the 'mature' section near the beginning of the chapter; please, if you feel like something wasn't done 'right' or whatever, constructive critisism is always welcome and will be very much appreciated. I'm asking for your opinions directly because I want to see just how well I actually rate at that kind of stuff when it comes to the opinions of all of you, my readers and followers... **If you flame or bitch about it just because its there or whatever, I WILL IGNORE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!** And probably get shit-faced drunk in the span of half an hour by taking a shot of Jack for every bullshit flame review I get because of the smuttiness. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and keep an eye out for any other updates I might surprise you all with at the most inconvient and random of times!

(Edit) I did a stupid. There were a couple spots where I kind of went retarded and didn't finish or fix them before posting the chapter. Those mistakes have now been fixed. My bad. If anyone spots a screw up that I missed, please let me know what and where it is so I can fix it. (Thus is the curse of manual editing after not sleeping for a couple days...Fucking insomnia...)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Guardian of the Sun

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Chapter Ten

Lounging across the small cushioned love seat in the study with her legs dangling over one of the arm rests, Benihime was focused solely on the scroll in her hands, reading up on some of the advanced tracking techniques her boyfriend's parents had collected in the past. Apart from her red thong, she was dressed in only a baggy over-sized black hoodie with orange along the sides of it and orange cuffs, the hooded jacket's interior lining being made of fluffy orange faux fur; it used to be Naruto's, but he didn't wear it anymore, so she claimed it for herself. The faux fur lining simply felt way too good on her bare skin, almost addictively so, and it was big enough on her that it went half-way down her thighs.

Standing in the doorway and leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest, Naruto went unnoticed by his girlfriend as he watched her with a smile on his face, the young woman idly kicking her long bare-skinned legs as she read the scroll in her hands. The jacket was only zipped up to just below her large breasts while her hair had been pulled forward over her left shoulder, the hood tossed up over her head while only her fingers could be seen sticking out of the sleeves. Despite the size of her breasts filling in some of the space, she was still just five and a half feet tall, making the jacket look far bigger on her than what it really was. In his opinion, he found it kind of cute how she was already raiding his old clothes and wearing them around the house.

Having returned from Wave Country just the day before, he and Team 7 had been given the week off after everything that had occured back on the small island nation. For once, he hadn't gone straight back to training like he would have just a short three weeks ago, having chosen to actually relax and spend more quality time with Benihime. She had been thrilled to find out about that part and had kept him confined to their bed all afternoon and night yesterday, having kept her unspoken vow to 'get back' at him for what he had put her through just a few days ago.

Then again, old habits died hard. While he himself wasn't training, he had a team of clones at a nearby training field working on a few things while a couple others had been sent into the village to run some errands for him. Thinking about one such errand, Naruto reached into his pocket to retrieve the item he'd had his eye on since he took Benihime shopping that one day. It was a simple black leather choker that had two small aquamarine gemstones about the size of his thumb nail that had been cut into the shape of fangs set into the leather on either side of where the wearer's throat would be and outlined with silver metal. It hadn't been all that expensive, it wasn't too fancy, it was made of relatively durable materials so it wasn't going to get ruined easily, and because of its design, it wouldn't get in the way during a fight or anything. Practical, yet pretty.

He knew it was kind of a sudden thing, getting her jewelry and such when they had only known each other for a few weeks so far, but Naruto didn't really care about that. He'd never cared much for what others thought of him or what he did, but Benihime...He couldn't pin point it, but she had stirred something within him that he hadn't ever felt before. Prior to taking that mission to Forest Country where he'd first met her, Naruto had lived...an honestly boring and predictable lifestyle despite six years of traveling the world with Jiraiya. Now, though, he never knew what the next day would bring or what he'd be doing...and, surprisingly, he was starting to really like it. It kept things interesting.

He was just scared about whether or not Benihime would actually like it...

 _ **"Stop being such a wuss and just give it to her, you idiot."**_ The Kyuubi growled out at him, catching Naruto off guard and making him jump ever so slightly in surprise. _**"It's pointless worrying about how she'll react if all you do is stall."**_

 _"Yeah, like you're the best source for relationship advice."_ Naruto sarcastically retorted through the link with a roll of his eyes, a quiet growl soon echoing around in his head in response. _"Just go back to sleep, furball."_

Sighing as the link was disconnected, Naruto took a breath to calm his nerves before doing like the Kyuubi had suggested anyways. Walking over to where Benihime was without being noticed, Naruto leaned over from behind her and captured her lips in a kiss, the red head mildly startled by his sudden appearance. Melting into the kiss and returning it whole heartedly, she set the scroll down in her lap before reaching up to run her fingers through Naruto's hair, momentarily ignoring what his hands were doing around her neck as his tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth. Moaning softly a few seconds before they finally separated, Benihime opened her teal eyes again, catching a glimpse of her boyfriend's sapphire irises before he pulled away completely.

"What's this?" Benihime questioned curiously as she sat up, her hands going to the object that had been placed around her neck. Seeing the somewhat awkward smile on Naruto's face as he rubbed the back of his neck, the Akajuu gave him a look of half-hearted suspicioun while undoing the item's clasp in the back. When she actually saw it, however, she gasped in shock before looking back up at him. "Oh, Naruto. You shouldn't have...This is beautiful."

"Y-Yeah...I saw it a while back and thought you might like it." He admittedly a bit hesitantly, blushing slightly out of embarrassment as he looked off to the side awkwardly. Smiling warmly at her boyfriend, Benihime carefully set it back around her neck and secured the clasp. She wasn't usually a fan of jewelry, but it had been a gift from Naruto and it was obvious to her that he was nervous about the whole thing.

"Thank you, Naru-kun." Benihime finally said as she reached over and grabbed his hand before pulling him down onto the love seat beside her. Tenderly kissing him on the cheek, she snuggled up against him with a beaming grin. "I love it."

"Y-your welcome, Hime." Naruto mumbled back in response before kissing the top of her head, getting a quite laugh out of the young woman. As she adjusted her position so that she was leaning back against Naruto's side with her legs dangling over the arm rest again, Benihime went back to reading her scroll. Interlacing her fingers with Naruto's, she held his hand and squeezed it lovingly as she nuzzled his shoulder. With every day that passed, she could feel her love for him growing stronger and stronger because of the little things he was always doing for her; as awkard as he could be, he was such a sweet-heart. How he hadn't already been 'claimed' by a girl before they'd met was beyond her.

 _'Oh, well. Too bad for them, 'cause he's all mine now.'_ Benihime thought to herself cheerfully, kicking her legs once more as she leaned into Naruto's side a little more heavily, his arm wrapped around her waist and her head leaning against his shoulder and chest.

 _ **"Told you so...Stupid brat."**_ The Kyuubi grunted out, making Naruto pout slightly while the fox's presence receeded back into the depths of the seal. Glancing back down at Benihime and seeing how much happier she looked, though, Naruto couldn't help smiling again. Kissing the top of her head again before resting his head against hers, Naruto closed his eyes and relaxed, listening to Benihime as she quietly hummed to herself. Deciding to take a short little power nap while he was 'stuck' on the love seat, he figured he might as well enjoy their little moments together while he could before he had to get back to his duties...

xXx

A few days later, Benihime found herself staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror again, clad in only her usual red thong, her black short-shorts, the hoodie she had 'stolen' from her boyfriend...and the choker he had given her earlier that week. Having left the hoodie unzipped and parted, she tenderly fingered the black leather item clasped around her throat with a small, loving smile. It made her think of a collar, as if Naruto had claimed full 'ownership' of her; it was a thought that actually pleased her. Her Alpha 'owned' her now. She had rarely taken it off over the past few days, removing it only when she had to or when she got in the shower.

 _'He seemed to really enjoy it last night when I kept it on while we were having sex.'_ Her loving smile turned sultry at the thought, recalling her beloved's reaction and behavior when she had stopped him from taking it off her amidst their usual foreplay. He'd been especially aggressive and dominating with her because of it, though he was just as loving and caring of her as always. She just might keep it on every time now that she knew how differently he acted because of it. Finger tips trailing down her collar bone and along one of her breasts, Benihime smiled a little more seductively as she thought about waking him up in a certain way, the blonde currently sleeping on their bed just beyond the bathroom door.

His week off was finally coming to an end and he would be returning to his duties as a Tokubetsu Genin the next day, so she figured it was her best chance to get one last day alone with him. He'd certainly enjoy it, she knew for sure. Even as she grew a little more excited, Benihime's smile became more tender and somewhat shy as her cheeks were tinged pink; he'd been such a gentleman the past few days, going out of his way to spend as much quality time with her as possible without coming across as being 'clingy'. She thought it was kind of cute and it made her feel special. No, not special...It made her feel _wanted_. Her Alpha was finally opening up to her more.

 _'Yeah...He's getting some special treatment today.'_ The Akajuu princess mused with a small smile as she stepped out of the bathroom, making her way over to the bed where Naruto was sleeping before wiggling out of her tight-fitting shorts. Pulling the covers aside to reveal her boyfriend wearing his usual baggy black sleeping shorts, Benihime carefully climbed into bed and stradled him before leaning down until her bountiful chest was pressed against his. Shivering slightly as their bare warm flesh touched, Benihime moaned quietly before gently pressing her lips to his, slowly rocking her hips against his. Feeling his body reacting to her actions, her lips quirked into a smirk as she turned it up a knotch to start waking him up.

Lightly dragging her nails down along his side, Benihime slid her tongue into his mouth while using her other hand to ran her fingers through Naruto's golden locks, gently grazing his scalp with her claws. Groaning quietly as he slowly started waking up, Naruto's hands found their way to her thighs while he started returning the tongue-filled kiss, though lethargically. Feeling one of his hands slowly move up her body under the hoodie, Benihime let out another soft moan as he cradled the back of her neck, deepening the lip-lock a little more as he lightly squeezed her thigh just below her rear. Pressing their hips together more firmly and grinding against him a little slower, Benihime enjoyed the sensation of feeling his member stiffen fully beneath her while a third gentle groan of pleasure escaped her.

Finally becoming aware of everything as he woke up, Naruto moved his hand from her thigh to her rear as he pushed her hips lower, squeezing her butt cheek a bit rougher than he had her thigh. Savoring the low groan of approval she let out in response, Naruto slowly dragged his nails down her spine, making her shiver and spasm with another moan that was louder and hornier than before. Without breaking the kiss, Benihime reached down between them to pull his shorts down low enough to expose his member, only to pull the crotch of her thong aside enough to uncover her own sex. She didn't care that he didn't have a condom on. It was kind of a special morning for her and she had started taking an herbal medication for birth control the other day anyways.

"Mm!" Benihime moaned a little louder as she slowly lowered herself on him, Naruto's nails digging into her rear as his other hand returned to her neck, kissing her far more passionately than before. As he was fully buried inside of her, Benihime finally broke the kiss with a saucy smirk, lightly tugging on his bottom lip with her fangs as she sat up. Groaning deeply for several long seconds with her hands braced against Naruto's chest, Benihime smiled down at her Alpha. "Mm...Good morning, love."

"Good morning to you, too." Naruto returned with a small smirk, his hands resting on her hips as she rocked back and forth a little bit. Finally shedding the hoodie she had been wearing the whole time, Benihime never broke eye contact with him. Using the claws on her thumbs and a hint of chakra, she then promptly cut the straps to her thong before tossing the scrap of cloth aside; she had plenty more to do away with one of them. Now, wearing only the choker he had given her, Benihime leaned back down with her chest thrust out a little bit, purposefully drawing his eyes down to her breasts and her choker as well. While he was distracted for the moment, she rolled her hips just right to cause them both the most pleasure possible at the moment, getting a quiet groan from her blonde lover while she moaned deeply next to his ear.

Slowly biting down on his shoulder where his mark was, Benihime kept repeating the same action over and over again, her moans steadily growing louder and more sexually desperate as she intentionally tortured herself in order to please her Alpha as much as possible. She could feel him stiffen and twitch inside of her as her inner walls tightened around him, all while his nails slowly dug into her hips and his jaws clamped down on her own mark. It took only a couple minutes before it became too much for her, releasing his shoulder and moving her hips faster than before, her actions becoming a little more forceful. Letting out a soft whimper with every gasping breath she took, Benihime could feel herself nearing the peak of her first climax that morning.

"Oh! N-Naru!" She cried out breathlessly, Naruto's mouth still firmly latched on to her shoulder; he wasn't letting go this time. "H-Harder, baby! Please!"

Almost immediately, Naruto's grip on her hips tightened before he started amplifying her pelvic gyrations. Eyes rolling back, Benihime's whimpering moans started growing louder with each thrust, fisting her hands in his hair as her body started to tense up from head to toe because of the heavenly level of euphoria that filled her. Sinking her fangs back into Naruto's shoulder where she had first marked him, Benihime nearly screamed into his shoulder as her first orgasm tore through her body, making her shake and shiver almost uncontrollably. Even as Naruto kept going, it took Benihime almost a minute to finally let go of his shoulder, her cheeks flushed red as she gasped for breath.

Hooking a foot under Naruto's leg and keeping her grip on his hair, Benihime gained a slightly wicked grin as she leaned to the side, pulling him with her. As they rolled over, Benihime helped her beloved discard his shorts fully before forcing him to look her in the eye. Neither said a word as she stared into his eyes with such an intense amount of lust in her gaze. She didn't _have_ to say anything for him to understand that she wanted everything he had to give this time. There weren't going to be any breaks or taking it easy or holding back; she wanted it all. Pulling him back down and aggressively smashing their lips together, Benihime was quite pleased to be forced into total submission within seconds, a loud whimpering moan dragging itself out of her as her Alpha started thrusting again, only harder and deeper than before.

He didn't know what had gotten into her that morning, but whatever it was, Benihime wasn't going to let up until she got everything she wanted. He wasn't about to disappoint her. Releasing her shoulder, Naruto put a little more force in his thrusts as he speed up a bit, wrapping his lips around her left nipple in the process. Benihime only started whimpering in ecstacy even more as she fisted her hands in his hair again, holding his head against her chest as he started sucking on the erect nub of her tit. It didn't take long before her legs were fully wrapped around him and her ankles locked together, her whimpers soon turning into full-blown cries of euphoria as he did everything he could to please her.

"Oh, god! Y-Yes! Yes!" Benihime manged to cry between gasping breaths, her back arching and head tilting back as Naruto started grazing the ultra-sensitive flesh of her tit with his teeth. Her hold on him tightened as she felt a second orgasm already starting to build up within her core. It all felt so good, even better than any other time they'd had sex before. In the very back of her mind that was still remotely functional, Benihime decided to keep up with her new herbal birth control because it felt _so_ much better without a condom; for both of them. Her cries of ecstacy suddenly became a gasping whimper as her breath caught in her throat, having just had her G-spot jabbed hard enough that the ripple of pleasure that followed caused her body to freeze up, clinging to Naruto with a full-body death grip. Her second orgasm was triggered immediately after with Naruto's following thrust, hitting the same spot harder than before. "O-oh, god! A...Again! Do that again!"

Grinning against Benihime's breast as he moved his attention to her other nipple, Naruto did as she begged of him, thrusting even harder and faster than before. If she wanted everything, she was going to get it...and he was going to make sure she was damn near comatose by the time he was finished with her...

xXx

Leaving the administrative building after collecting the pay from another simple D-rank mission one of his clones had just finished a short while ago, Naruto just barely avoided literally running into Karasu, of all people, as she and her team arrived to request a mission of their own. For the first few seconds, it was quiet and Kakashi was not oblivious to the tension between the two long-time friends...

"Karasu." Naruto 'greeted' rather coldly, something that caught the Uchiha kunoichi off guard. Sensing the coming storm, Kakashi didn't hesitate to usher his other two students inside, leaving the pair to their business.

"What's with the attitude all of a sudden?" Karasu growled out, scowling slightly. Naruto's eyes narrowed sharply in response, the blonde currently outfitted in his full set of armor with his metal face mask set in place.

"Don't play dumb with me, Karasu. I know what happened between you and Benihime back in Wave Country." Naruto retorted, barely keeping his temper under control. Now that he had finally started opening up and bonding with Benihime, he had grown quite protective of her and now, a week after returning from the island nation, his mood concerning the Uchiha's behavior towards the Akajuu back then had soured considerably. Hearing his response, though, Karasu instantly winced with a slight grimace and he noticed it immediately. "I thought you were better than that."

"Better than that? Who the hell do you think you are?!" Karasu suddenly snapped back angrily, glaring right back at him. "I've known you since we were kids! Ever since you came back, you've been acting like a completely different person, Naruto!"

"That tends to happen when you're gone for seven years, Karasu!" Naruto snarled back, the fierceness of his tone making her flinch back. "That's what happens when you _grow up_!"

"No, that's what happens when you let some bitch you don't even-" Karasu didn't get to finish her retort. For the first time in his life, Naruto was _livid_ , his eyes blood red from subconsciously drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra in his anger. For the first time in his life, he was visibly shaking with anger. For the first time in his life...he had struck Karasu, a female, outside of combat; out of anger, at that. Unable to do anything other than stare at Naruto with wide eyes in her shock, Karasu held her reddening cheek in pain after being back-handed by her old childhood friend, the power behind it having thrown her back and knocked her to the ground. All around them, the few people that had been in the area watched everything unfold with bated breath...

" _Never_...call her that again. Am I understood, Karasu?" Naruto growled out; he was aware of what he had done and he was not proud of it, possibly even disgusted with himself for it, but it had already been done and apologizing would only make things worse. Then again, his temper and his pride would not allow him to apologize for it, even if he truly wanted to. Without even waiting for a response, he turned to leave, but he paused for a moment, glaring at her over his shoulder. "If you want to continue this discussion later, you can find me at Training Ground Seventeen...I'm going to be there for the rest of the day."

 _'He...He hit me.'_ Was all that ran through Karasu's mind as she watched him leave, completely oblivious to the shocked expression on Kakashi's face, who stood in the now-open doorway; he'd come out to try to calm things down when he heard the two start raising their voices towards one another. She was almost completely unresponsive to her sensei as he tried to pull her back to her feet, his words going unheard as she blankly stared off in the direction Naruto had gone...

When did she lose her friend?

xXx

"GUAH!" Naruto heaved out as he was struck in the stomach by one of his many clones, the power behind it sending him flying back before crashing into a house-sized boulder. Smashing into the rock and nearly becoming embedded in the stone, Naruto's snarl didn't leave his armored face, his eyes still burning a furious crimson. With a simple flex of his arms combined with a 'small' push, he launched himself from the boulder and charged back towards the small army of armored clones he had pitted himself against.

It had been two _days_ since his encounter with Karasu and he had yet to leave Training Ground Seventeen. He had yet to even notice how long he'd been going or that he had gained a small audience...

"He hasn't stopped, has he?" Hiruzen inquired of the jounin present as he calmly walked over to them, his hands clasped behind his back. Having been among the first jounin to hear about what had happened the other day, Asahi and Arashi were present, standing off to the Sandaime's left. Arashi watched with his usual cold and expressionless stare, his arms crossed over his chest, while the Hyuuga woman beside him was worried for Naruto. With them was Mitarashi Anko and an ANBU wearing a Tiger mask.

"No. When he thins their numbers out, he just makes more and keeps going." Tiger answered, currently crouched on a branch above the Hokage. He'd been keeping an eye on Naruto the longest, mostly watching him through the night, but the way the boy just kept going...Tiger didn't know what to think about him, knowing his true identity as the Kyuubi no Kitsune's jinchuuriki. Naruto's drive to keep going was...unstoppable. He simply didn't run out of steam, he just kept going and going, smashing through whatever was in his path. However, he had seen the boy and how he interacts with others around him. As powerful as he was, Naruto was practically a 'gentle giant', tending to others before himself...but it seemed that even Naruto had his limits, considering what had happened between him and Uchiha Karasu two days ago.

"No...He's starting to tire out." Arashi spoke up, correcting the ANBU without taking his eyes off the all-out brawl they were witnessing from a safe distance away. Nearly a couple hundred copies of Naruto were battling the one original, who was easily picked out of the horde by the old and fresh blood stains splattering his armor from various wounds he had suffered and healed from since he started the fight roughly fourty-eight hours prior. "He's been using the Kyuubi's chakra to kept himself as strong as possible this whole time, but his body won't be able to take it for much longer. It'll give out before his resolve will break..."

"Kid got a deathwish or something?" Anko mumbled with a slight frown. Before anyone could continue the conversation, the battle they were watching suddenly came to a close...or so they thought.

"Jishin Shoutotsu!" Naruto bellowed as he dropped down in the middle of the horde, having jumped into the air after readying the technique he was using. Keeping his legs bent as if he were crouched, he waited until the very last second to fully extend his legs in a double-kick that hammered into the ground with the force of an asteroid, his chakra surging out in a deadly pulse through the ground. Immediately after, the earth ruptured in a rolling circular wave that radiated out from where he landed, the sections of dirt and soil smashing through his clones as if they weren't even there.

Standing at the center of the massive, though shallow, crater was the original Naruto, hunched over slightly and gasping for breath as sweat dripped off his head. Arms hanging at his side, Naruto lifted his head to find the one person he didn't want to see at the moment...

"Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time." Karasu growled out as she kept walking towards him, her eyes narrowed with contained anger that had been bubbling up inside of her since he struck her two days ago. Grasped in her right hand was a sheathed guardless chokuto with the Uchiha fan symbol decorating the slender wooden scabard near the opening. Just as she moved to draw her sword, Karasu's eyes went wide while her Sharingan flared to life when she found Naruto already within striking range of her, his right fist already cocked back.

"Go...AWAY!" He roared as his fist made contact with the center of her chest, the impact having enough power behind it to completely obliterate the log she had replaced herself with at the last possible second. Eyes still burning red with the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto growled loudly in anger as he turned around to find Karasu already in mid-lunge. Grabbing the blade of her sword with his left hand, Naruto shifted her aim so her stab sailed harmlessly over his left shoulder even as the blade shrieked and sparked from grinding against his armored palm. Fanged teeth bared beneath his mask, Naruto kept his furious gaze locked on Karasu's as he reached out with his free right hand.

Hacking slightly as her throat slammed into his palm, Karasu came to a full stop instantly while suspended in the air by Naruto's hand, which was wrapped around her neck. Before he could try anything else, Karasu kicked him as hard as she could in the chin, cocking his head back and causing him to let her go. Before she could follow it up, the blonde juggernaut slammed his foot into her chest, rocketing her back while her sword was left in his grasp. Hitting the ground nearly fifty feet later, Karasu tumbled and rolled for another twenty before finally sliding to a stop, only to start coughing and gagging, trying to refill her lungs with oxygen while resisting the urge to puke up the contents of her stomach in the process.

"If you value your life, I suggest you get as far away from me as you can right now." Naruto snarled, still glaring heatedly at the kunoichi as he lowered his arms, only to tighten his grip on the blade in his left hand. Karasu, finally regaining the ability to breath properly, looked up and visibly flinched when the blade to her chokuto suddenly shattered in his hand from him squeezing it so tightly. She also started losing her anger, fear slowly creeping up her spine after hearing Naruto's warning; he wasn't playing around.

Gritting her teeth, Karasu started glaring back at him again, having thought she'd give herself the upper hand by waiting him out and letting him wear himself down...She'd never been so wrong in her life. Even after fourty-eight hours of intense fighting, he was still too far beyond her level of skill to handle at the moment. She didn't know why his eyes were blood red and she had no idea how he was still so strong after exerting so much energy, but he was on a totally different level than her...

 _'How is he so damn strong?!'_ She mentally hissed as she shakily forced herself back to her feet, wobbling slightly for a moment before stabilizing herself. _'It's like that night all over again! I'm just as powerless against him as I was against Itachi! It's not right!'_

Growling animalistically again as a burst of steam rushed out of the vent-like slots in his mask, Naruto started walking towards Karasu, his hands balled up into tight fists and his arms shaking slightly from the tension in them. The Uchiha kunoichi frozen in fear from the suffocating miasma of killing intent that now flooded the area, Naruto barely reached the half way point between them when he was suddenly blocked off by a couple jounin he recognized and the Sandaime Hokage himself. Glancing from one to the next, Naruto fixed his enraged gaze back on Karasu for a few seconds before turning around on his heel and marching off in the opposite direction. As the killing intent faded, Karasu sucked in a desperate gasp of air while falling to her knees, visibly shaking in fear and drenched with a cold sweat.

"Asahi-san. Please tend to Karasu." Hiruzen instructed while starting to walk after Naruto. "I'll handle him from here."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Hokage-sama?" Tiger inquired, only to recieve no answer as Naruto disappeared via Shunshin, the Hokage following immediately behind him.

"Tempermental brat, isn't he?" Anko remarked to Arashi, only getting a quiet grunt front the jounin before he turned to assist Asahi with calming down and checking on Uchiha Karasu; if they hadn't interfered, Karasu just might have lost her life to Naruto in his blind rage. It was obvious to them that he did not register her as an ally in his current state...

xXx

Whining quietly, Benihime didn't slow and stop in her restless pacing in her room. Two days. She hadn't seen her beloved in two days and had been told nothing about his condition or whereabouts; not even the Hokage gave her answers last night or that morning. If he had been out on a mission, she would have at least been told as much, but no one knew anything. Or so they said. It was driving her up the wall with worry and anxiety. If something had happened to him, she didn't know what she would do...

Already, she was having trouble keeping a level head. Without Naruto beside her last night, she'd been terrorized by nightmares of her clan's extermination, which was only compounded upon her fear and worry. The lack of answers was only making things worse. If no one was going to help her, she'd find the answers she wanted on her own. As that thought shot through her mind, Benihime was already bolting for the armory to gather up her armor and equipment.

Wearing the casual-dress outfit she'd gotten on her first 'date' with Naruto, Benihime had her bracers strapped on under the baggy sleeves and her greaves strapped to her shins under the leggings of her pants. A pair of kunai holsters were strapped to either of her thighs, an equipment pouch was set behind either of her hips, and hidden under her kimono-like top was a set of standard ANBU-style body armor that she'd found. Leaving her scarf behind, her choker left in clear view, Benihime rushed out of the house, already channeling chakra into her nose as she sniffed the air for any traces of her beloved Alpha's scent.

One way or another, she was going to find her lover...and nothing was going to get in her way. She was _not_ going to lose him like she did her family...

xXx

 _ **"Boy, this is my last warning."**_ Kyuubi growled from within his mind, recieving no response from Naruto as the blonde simply stalked deeper into the forest. _**"Stop drawing on my chakra right NOW or I'll make you regret it."**_

"Naruto." Hiruzen called out firmly, though calmly, as he stopped just ahead of Naruto. Finally halting in his walk, Naruto huffed out another small burst of steam as he flexed his armored hands, but he remained where he was. "You need to calm down. I can understand that you're upset, but right now, I need you to relax. Can you do that for me?"

Letting out a quiet, throaty growl, Naruto seemed to get aggitated for a moment before taking a deep breath. Sharply exhaling one last gust of heated air that rushed out of the vents of his mask, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and focused as much as he could, slowly flushing the Kyuubi's chakra out of his system. A moment later, he opened his eyes to reveal his natural blue irises. Just as the Sandaime was relieved to have made progress with the boy, Hiruzen immediately snapped into action when Naruto blacked out, collapsing to the ground in a boneless heap...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jishin Shoutotsu- Seismic Collision

A/N: Alright, it started off with some fluff and a little smut, but I feel that this chapter showed just how strong of a bond the two have been developing. Also, a little more action-packed than the previous chapters...Naruto's issue with Karasu's behavior has come to a head and things are growing a little more hectic; how will things play out, I wonder? Not only that, but a little more insight into Naruto's temper problems...I know you guys can't see it, but I've got such a big shit-eating grin on my face right now because I know where this is all leading...and you don't! God, I wish I could see y'alls faces when this particular 'arc' comes to a close. (I'm enjoying myself WAY too much right now... XD)


End file.
